Harry Hamlin Ricker III is a retired electrical engineer who writes commentaries on physical science, science history, impact of science on society and the philosophy of science. He has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech and a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire. He has worked for Illinois Institute Of Technology Research Institute, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and Communications Satellite Corporation. He has been an amateur astronomer for nearly 50 years and was leader of the Natural Philosophy Alliance relativity interest group for five years. He lives in Newport News, VA.
Logical Fallacy - Appeal to Authority (or Non-Authority)
Definition: Using an authority as evidence in your argument when the authority is not really an authority on the facts relevant to the argument. As the audience, allowing an irrelevant authority to add credibility to the claim being made.
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To expand on this further, I have a degree in Electrical Engineering as well. Graduated in 1996. That degree does not in any way make me an expert on any subject matter within the realm of cosmology any more than a cosmologist is an expert on circuit theory or electromagnetic theory.
And being an 'amateur astronomer' basically stipulates within the confines of the definition that the individual is an
amateur, NOT an expert.