

Ben Stein: The Sales Profession: Attention Must Still Be Paid  - edw519
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/business/26every.html?_r=2

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apinstein
Ben Stein, really? I am sorry but ever since he decided that evolution was BS
I quit listening to the guy.

Speaking clearly and having a strong education is a necessary but not
sufficient condition for being intelligent.

~~~
herdrick
Ad hominem. It's a good essay.

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apinstein
It's not totally ad hominem...

I know the guy, and I know that he can make a compelling-sounding argument
against something that I know (believe/whatever) to be true (ie evolution).

Thus I no longer trust anything he says because I don't trust his motives or
his arguments to be made in good faith.

I happily continue to listen to arguments made by people I have had previous
disagreements with, but not those who I have evidence that simply ignore facts
and scientific process. My experience tells me it's a waste of time.

There's a difference between that and an ad hominem attack.

~~~
herdrick
First, I think you'd have a hard time finding anything good to read if you
only stuck with writers who sound wrong when they're wrong. Second, Stein's
anti-evolution thing is a religious belief and you'd be wise to forgive
someone's apparently irrational thinking in that area. Religion is special.

(But anyway I'm fine with ad hominem judgments. They're useful.)

