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Can you participate in one (1) conversation without asking for data or studies? Obviously he doesn't have a list of articles his friend used to make an offhand comment.

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I wouldn't call it "obvious" that someone would accept another's opinion without any info to back it up and then extol it, though it's very interesting to me that you did.

I didn't accept or reject his opinion. I pointed out that you're acting like an unsocialized ass when you say shit like "Wow, got a source for what some other guy based his comment on 5 years ago?"

I don’t understand GP’s comments. It’s like they are so obstinate or cargo cult fixated on a good idea and messed it up so badly to think that asking for evidence is appropriate everywhere.

“Do you have data to support your stated preference for chocolate ice cream?”

I have substantial historical evidence that I prefer chocolate ice cream to cherry, alas it is unpublished unless you count grocery receipts. :-)

A lot of people have cottoned on to how important hard evidence is for forming informed opinions. Unfortunately, many of them have yet to learn that you can judge a conclusion on its own merit without a bibliography of every idea that led to it.

It's really off-putting.

It's called Sealioning[1] and it's a well known form of trolling.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealioning

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