Originally Posted by Van Rijn

I don't care what degrees they say they have or don't have. The problem is that many (though not all) ATMers don't understand the fundamentals in the subject they are arguing about. Even then, I think discussion is good if they show some willingness to learn. If people come away from a thread having learned something, or were inspired to go out and learn more on their own, that's wonderful. Failing that, the only point to a thread is to point out the issues for others. And when that just becomes an exercise of repetition, it's time to lock the thread (as is generally done in these cases).