Re: Pseudoskeptical tendencies...
There was implied profanity in my number 5. I won't clarify it more on this board.
Ohh... I see. Heh. *Embarrassed, slightly.* Won't probe further, but see what you're saying.
So a man walks into an auto shop and tells the mechanic "I have this small machine that will replace the carbuerator on that old Buick you are working on. Do it and you can fill the gas tank with water from now on and it will run better than it did before." Is the mechanic a pseudo-skeptic for running the guy out of the shop, without examining the claim in detail?
No, not per se. But it's not quite apples to apples is it?
Counterpoint:
If a man walks into an automotive professor's office with a claim such as you've noted above, and the professor calls him an "idiot," tells him he has no business talking about science, refuses to even engage in a discussion of the theory behind the device on the basis that it's "implausible" or tells him that it "can't possibly work" without telling him why (pronouncement rather than explanation), then, yes, I would call him a pseudo-skeptic.
It's one thing to simply ignore someone and not hear what they have to say.
It's completely another to pretend to hear what they have to say, call them an idiot, tell them it's implausible in their worldview (thus MUST be wrong; a logical fallacy in itself: implausibility is not he same thing as disproof) and refuse to explain their reasoning on WHY the offered propositions are incorrect (especially when their opinion has been solicited on specifically the issue in question).
Sound familiar? I think it does...
Claiming authority/credentials is one thing, using them is another thing entirely. I'm confused as to why ARRELL refuses to address specific pointed question or technical issues I've raised, or respond to specific links to physics sites / papers I've pointed out.
ARRELL has engaged with the thread in order to offer opinions. However, in lieu of actual meritorious technical arguments, I've heard nothing but invective and personal attacks from him. So, yes, to me that currently screams pseudo-skeptic.
I don't know whether he acts so belligerently with all of those he considers his "peers" to be... At the moment, the only image of his behavior I've seen is basically that of a playground bully.
I had hoped to be a bit more tactful, but for the moment, that is my opinion.
Regards,
~Michael Gmirkin