Creative Speculation
In reply to the discussion: The Great Thermite Debate... [View all]William Seger
(11,082 posts)> An argument from authority is only fallacious if it's wrong.
Wrong again. It appears that we need to add "argument from authority" to "circular reasoning" and "straw-man" to the list of logical fallacies that you don't understand. Argument from authority is a fallacy when you argue that someone is correct because he is an authority: X says A; X is an expert; therefore A is true. It's a fallacy because the inference is not logically valid; even experts can be wrong. Just because someone is considered to be an expert doesn't mean that they don't need to base their arguments on reliable facts and valid logical inferences, like anyone else, and if they do that, then citing the soundness of their arguments -- not their expertise -- as reasons for accepting their conclusions is not a fallacy. You should now be able to answer your own question about your dentist's opinion.
Regardless of what the initial reactions were by anyone on 9/11, rational people often change their minds when given more information and time to think things through. Even smart people can sometimes say idiotic things. The notion that the WTC buildings were brought down by controlled demolitions is an idiotic theory, and no citing of a list of people who initially had that speculation on 9/11 changes that. You have refuted nothing.