Hacker News Reader

Comment by Alex3917 | Hacker News Reader

Is there something in particular that you weren't able to find via Google or Wikipedia?

Is there some reason you expect anyone to try to prove or disprove your bald assertions? This type of reasoning is called argumentum ad ignorantiam, or argument from ignorance. When you boldly assert 'x', then provide no proof, then subsequently expect others to disprove your assertion, you expose the weakness of your own argument.

It is not our responsibility to prove or disprove your assertions. If you have enlightening information to share with the class which you can cite, then please, by all means do. Otherwise, get thee gone.

That makes no sense. I'm not trying to assert or prove anything. It would be wildly irresponsible for anyone to take any drug without doing their own research into its safety and efficacy; I'm just listing some of the benefits that scientists have found, and people can do their own research if they are interested in learning more.

Benefits as shown by whom? If readers are still expected to do their own research, then what purpose does this grossly oversimplified list serve?

It benefits people by letting them know what to look into. E.g. if you have an inflammatory condition like arthritis, and you read my comment that says marijuana is an anti-inflammatory, then you realize that if this is true then maybe marijuana would help. So then you go and do a Google or PubMed search for Marijuana + Arthritis, or Marijuana + Anti-inflammatory, in order to find the relevant scholarly research.

Hmm, no. [http://philosophy.lander.edu/logic/ignorance.html]

Had he argued that his points were valid simply because they hadn't been disproven, then it would have been an argument from ignorance.

Just because someone makes an assertion without attaching footnotes does not make it a fallacy.

I stand corrected. In my defense, however, in a reply to another poster he seemed to imply that because someone hadn't researched his point, his points weren't untrue.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com