<<Of course, this is just an argument from authority>>
Don't know why you're so upset about this. That's exactly what authorities are
for. I mean, a guy wins a Nobel Prize in chemistry, yet you toss out a
sweeping dismissal like, "it doesn't mean he really knows what he's talking
about." I honestly can't take that seriously.
The expert is presumed an expert (I always thought winning a Nobel Prize was a
good thing), unless you're able to show precisely how he is in error, with
some substantive argument. The easy, sweeping put-downs of Johnson of late
have been accompanied by precisely nothing of substance [only the Priesthood
Fallacy has been relied upon].
Jim