Reply #72: oh dear

[iverglas]

context, context, context.

Conversely, it would presumably be an appeal to authority for me to say that Isaac Newton did all this amazing stuff -- so you should believe what he says about "x", a matter within his field of expertise.
But actually your very link disputes this.

Ya take it out of context, and ya just lose the meaning altogether, don't ya?

Ze context (I use boldface for yours, italics for mine; I just find, particularly in the font I use for reading the board, that italicized text is more annoying to read and not as readily distinguished from the rest of the text, so I use it for blocks of text less frequently; here, I also add underlining for emphasis to identify the clues):

Well, I usually label remarks such as 'a bunch of swine' and 'simply stupid ... to behave as it does' ad hominem attacks, but that's just me.
And I guess it would be an ad hominem attack for me to call George W. Bush a vicious war-mongering piece of shit.
Conversely, it would presumably be an appeal to authority for me to say that Isaac Newton did all this amazing stuff -- so you should believe what he says about "x", a matter within his field of expertise.

"I guess it would be" ... "it would presumably be" ... it would be, per you. "It would be" (that's the conditional), IF you had been correct about my statement.

I guess I really shoulda put that :sarcasm: there, eh? For those who don't follow along?

Your statement was incorrect; so were mine that followed. And, um, that was my point.

Poof goes the air out of that one.