Ryker
Registered User
I absolutely agree it's a logical fallacy if someone is saying something is undoubtedly true just because an expert in that field says it's true. No quarrel there. But you can't prove (in the most formal sense of the word) statements like the one in question, because it's not a question that has an objective answer. So you just gather evidence that supports your argument and hope that with a certain degree of certainty you've shown that you're "right".
But even when things can't be objectively determined (here, I'm not talking just about sports), there is a build-up of a knowledge base, and those that have "studied" it can be, in my opinion, said to be more likely to be "right" about an arbitrary question that relates to that matter. So if you use an appeal to authority in that way, then you're just supporting your side of the argument by saying that people who are on average more likely to be right than a layman also hold the same position. That doesn't mean they're right in that particular situation. But it does give more credence to your side than just someone without as much knowledge agreeing with it (barring other evidence!). That's all I was saying.
I absolutely agree that coaches, GMs and other hockey experts can be wrong. But here he just provided two examples of coaches not playing Gus and appealed to other GMs that also seemingly passed on him by not signing him. I'm not sure whether he was ever placed on waivers, though, so I can't say if that second appeal to authority even is an appeal to authority or just a bad argument. In any case, I think such an appeal then just makes the other side have to work harder in establishing that their side of the argument is correct. But I saw unsubstantiated things like "Lavi had a thing for Mez" that seem like they're trying to fit reality around the opinion rather than the other way around and are supposed to render that appeal to authority as inapplicable. So that's why I chipped in.
I'm not the biggest fan of Berube and neither was I of Lavi. But, ****, at the end of the day, I've never received any formal education on hockey coaching or, for that matter, even played hockey. So that's why I realize that what I think might be wrong, and I just expect everyone else here to do the same. But I see a lot of harsh rejections of opinions that don't follow the majority vote here. That's the only thing that rubs me the wrong way.
Of course, and again I agree. Just goes to show you can't use the opinion of the authority as the right one just because it comes from the authority.
Sure, I wasn't disagreeing with or attacking anyone with my last statement, I just gave my opinion on Gus.
If he goes by his word, then why should we ever keep Grossmann or MacD around? I would of said Schenn, but he can at least get the puck out of the zone and the puck on net.
