Angry Atheists and Anti-Theists

[T0 Th3 M4X]

My comment was more directed towards people who unjustifiably claim authority when they have none.

I am constantly surprised that so many people posting on the internet have such wide-ranging interests these days, and can support their positions with any number of references to books and websites.  It seems to me a rather substantial segment of the general population is continuing their education on their own, and that internet discussions are yet another means by which they widen their horizons.i

Authority is not something you either have or you don't.  Everyone knows certain things to certain degrees.  That's what makes these discussions so interesting.

I tend to agree, but there is good and bad with it because not all information is quality information.  Epistemology is important and with that in mind, truth can get diluted when people go out of their way to assume or add things, especially when it's a hot topic and debate is expected.  As soon as someone starts interjecting bias, then we start to drift away from what it means to be "scientific" since information can be tainted rather than controlled for analysis.  All-in-all though, biases and fallacies are pretty normal.  Even when you don't want to express something improperly, it's easy to get caught up in an argument and allow emotions to take over.