Re: Poison, From the Far Right? (Rocket Fuel...)

From: Paul F. Dietz (dietz_at_dls.net)
Date: 03/01/05 

Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 19:18:13 -0600

Greg Kuperberg wrote:

> It's the famous theory of the weak argument. Trial attorneys are deeply
> fearful of them; a weak argument in court is a much bigger setback than
> a strong argument from the other side. The only problem is that the
> theory is false. The world is full of people who make bad arguments
> for just about every position.

Oh, surely. The argument is heuristic, not some kind of ironclad proof.
But it's a very useful heuristic, particularly if one takes care to
sample from various sources.

        Paul