Gilbert is employing the "authority fallacy/credential fallacy argument.
Although it can be persuasive for some, it can also be dead wrong.
Let me give you an example of using this technique:
Albert Einstein didn't believe black holes existed.
Here are his credentials:
In 1922, Einstein was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics,[1] "for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect". This refers to his 1905 paper on the photoelectric effect, "On a Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light", which was well supported by the experimental evidence by that time. The presentation speech began by mentioning "his theory of relativity [which had] been the subject of lively debate in philosophical circles [and] also has astrophysical implications which are being rigorously examined at the present time". (Einstein 1923)
It was long reported that, in accord with the divorce settlement,[2] the Nobel Prize money had been deposited in a Swiss bank account for Maric to draw on the interest for herself and their two sons, while she could only use the capital by agreement with Einstein. However, personal correspondence made public in 2006[3] shows that he invested much of it in the United States, and saw much of it wiped out in the Great Depression. However, ultimately he paid Maric more money than he received with the prize.[4]
In 1929, Max Planck presented Einstein with the Max Planck medal of the German Physical Society in Berlin, for extraordinary achievements in theoretical physics.[5]
In 1936, Einstein was awarded the Franklin Institute's Franklin Medal for his extensive work on relativity and the photo-electric effect.[5]
The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics named 2005 the "World Year of Physics" in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the publication of the annus mirabilis papers.[6]
The Albert Einstein Science Park is located on the hill Telegrafenberg in Potsdam, Germany. The best known building in the park is the Einstein Tower which has a bronze bust of Einstein at the entrance. The Tower is an astrophysical observatory that was built to perform checks of Einstein's theory of General Relativity.[7]
The Albert Einstein Memorial in central Washington, D.C. is a monumental bronze statue depicting Einstein seated with manuscript papers in hand. The statue, commissioned in 1979, is located in a grove of trees at the southwest corner of the grounds of the National Academy of Sciences on Constitution Avenue.
The chemical element 99, einsteinium, was named for him in August 1955, four months after Einstein's death.[8][9] 2001 Einstein is an inner main belt asteroid discovered on 5 March 1973.[10]
In 1999 Time magazine named him the Person of the Century,[11][12] ahead of Mahatma Gandhi and Franklin Roosevelt, among others. In the words of a biographer, "to the scientifically literate and the public at large, Einstein is synonymous with genius".[13] Also in 1999, an opinion poll of 100 leading physicists ranked Einstein the "greatest physicist ever".[14] A Gallup poll recorded him as the fourth most admired person of the 20th century in the U.S.[15]
In 1990, his name was added to the Walhalla temple for "laudable and distinguished Germans",[16] which is located east of Regensburg, in Bavaria, Germany.[17]
The United States Postal Service honored Einstein with a Prominent Americans series (1965–1978) 8¢ postage stamp.
In 2008, Einstein was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.[18]
Therefore black holes don't exist
:wink:
