I wasn't really appealing to authority. I was just suspecting a familiar pattern that I always find a little distasteful. Person A describes a brilliant idea they're obviously proud of. Person B casually dismisses it and just claims without evidence that the obvious way of doing it is better. I find that pattern to be not only rude, but to suck some of the joy out of life. The fact that person A on this occasion is widely acknowledged as a brilliant practitioner I thought added weight to me pushing back. But I'd be inclined to feel the same way if person A was an enthusiastic wide eyed student (say) with a fresh perspective.