John said:
What is with the "" Are you questioning his credentials because he adheres to something you do not? Heck even i recognize Dawkins as professor and he stands for everything i am against.
I am using the quotations to denote a special usage of the term professor. The common usage of professor refers to an instructor at an institute of higher learning (i.e., college or university), and as such carries the connotation of someone with advanced degrees in the field (i.e., an expert in the field). The less common usage refers to merely an instructor. Hence, a teacher in an elementary school could be considered a professor under these circumstances.
Though Dr. Baugh has correctly applied the term to the "professor" of mathematics (i.e., a math teacher at a high school, not a university professor), the application is problematic. The average person would assume the "professor" is a university professor with advanced degrees in the field, and is therefore an expert on the subject. This provides a greater "authority" element to the argument presented by the individual.
Therefore, my question is, was Dr. Baugh purposely applying the term professor to this teacher to give added authoritative weight to the teacher's argument? That is, was Dr. Baugh attempting to present this individual as an "expert in the field" to make the person's argument more convincing? And if so, are such tactics honest or dishonest?
And, as a secondary note, I found the arguments by the "professor" to be interesting at the time. I do not recall them enough detail to critique them. Thus, I cannot say whether or not I agree with them. (Though, given that I have serious caveats with Young Earth Creationism because of the dishonest tactics of many of its proponents, I am inclined to guess that would probably be a no. I do remain open-minded though.)
