Imagine the following scenario:
Four people were talking about the economic consequences of a Congressional bill: A, B, C, and D. B said that the bill does X. C, however, challenged that the bill is only a smoke screen, that it achieves Y instead of the promised X. A, quite mad about how the conversation is going, texts privately to D about how C is acting knowledgeably on economic matters. D replies not to consider C's arguments because C does not have a degree in economics.
What D said to A is a fallacy. Just because someone does not have a degree does not necessarily mean that the other is incapable of talking about a subject at hand. For all D knows, C had a private economics tutor. Heck, for all D knows, C had the privilege of having a free private tutor for history, philosophy, psychology, and mathematics while pursuing his literature major. After all, there's only so much a university allows you to learn.
Even if it were not the case, anyone with resources can subscribe to scholarly journals and keep up with the scholarly world of any type. We also have a beautiful gift of internet also. There are many gratuitous health-tip websites where we can learn about various health issues, both physical and mental. There is a wealth of videos where top scholars give succinct lectures on how certain things work.
Perhaps in the middle ages it was true that a person without a particular certification lacked credibility. Not in our day and age, however. People are equipped with eyes to read, ears to comprehend, brains to comprehend, and thinking skills to absorb a variety of information.
So before you are tempted to attack your opponent's intellectual authority on a contended matter, remember that an argument is won through sound reasoning, not credibility. Even Supreme Court justices make the simplest logical fallacies in their opinions. To do otherwise and shut down conversations with accusations of lack of understanding would be unduly prejudicial.
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