Originally Posted by
Manwell
...and well before our current obsession with links to authoritative references so we don't have to think for ourselves.
I'm not sure it's an "obsession" with links. Unless a person is a certified, acknowledged expert on a particular subject and can document that to an audience of strangers, an opinion is merely an opinion. For example, I can think anything I want about the physiology of alcohol metabolism but since I'm not a physiologist my opinion is just that: an opinion.
If one of us non-experts is going to support/discuss/debate a subject, the proper course is to seek out real experts and in the process learn something. I'd be reluctant to accuse people of not thinking merely because they supported an opinion on which they lacked personal experience or education. Just a thought...
"I am not young enough to know everything."
Oscar Wilde