The "Hoser review" of the genus Thamnophis...

[Didymus20X6]

It appears that Mr. Hoser can't tell the difference between a logical argument and a logical fallacy. He may be a scientist, but if he can't even understand basic logic, he can't possibly be a very good one.

Here are just a few of the fallacies this guy commits just about every time he posts:

Argument from Authority. He claims to be a scientist, and therefore whatever he has to say is right. Related to that, he claims that his "peer reviewed" journal is proof of his claims, when in reality there have been numerous instances in which the credibility of his "peer review" process has been challenged. But notice what he ISN'T doing: presenting real evidence to back up his claims.

Ad Hominem. More than once, I have seen him dismiss valid arguments against his claims based solely on his opponent's lack of experience. But in reality it doesn't matter how much experience his opponents have: if the arguments are valid, they are valid no matter who makes them, whether a newborn baby or a 100 year old expert. What matters isn't who says it - or the credentials of the person saying it - what matters is what is being said, and whether the points being made are valid.

Another example of ad hominem, or poisoning the well, is his use of the terms "trolls" and "flamers" to describe his opponents. Again, he doesn't seem to want to deal with the actual points themselves, but simply dismiss his opponents by using terms that imply that their opposition is meaningless.

The bottom line is, the burden of proof is on Mr. Hoser, both to present his evidence in full and to make his arguments based on sound logic. He has thus far not done so within this forum. Instead, he resorts to insisting that he is right for no other reason than that he is a scientist (never mind that other scientists disagree with him) and that his opponents are not (never mind that they raise valid criticisms and arguments). This has done little but prove to me that this Mr. Hoser is not a rational man, but is rather attempting to browbeat less astute hobbyists into supporting his position without adequate reason. This is not the hallmark of a good scientist, and in fact, in my mind, casts doubt on his expertise and his credibility.

Once again, I would urge Mr. Hoser to focus his efforts on discussing his "findings" with appropriate scientific authorities and let them make whatever decisions will be made. And until such a time comes - which I sincerely doubt - this is the THAMNOPHIS forum, a place for discussing the genus THAMNOPHIS, and not Gregswedoshus, because the latter genus does not even exist.

[thamneil]

Perhaps if I post a picture of a child holding a reptile, I can be a scientist to.



It worked! Time to go reclassify Crotalus!

[kibakiba]

I have 2 videos of some 2 year olds handling a fine specimine of thamnophis (big mama). Does that mean I can rename thamnophis ordinoides? I'm renaming thamnophis to unicornus... And all ordinoides shall be called pinkus. so I raise a whole lot of unicornus pinkus.

[Stefan-A]

Can we just get rid of this blathering idiot? He obviously doesn't play well with others.

Yes, we can.

[Stefan-A]

Chris-UK wrote:
"Showing us a picture of a phylogeny isn't "evidence"."
Well I thought it was, so we shall have to disagree.
To the others and their venomous comments above, I'll let you have the last word as you seem to think that "noise" wins
an argument and in this case you may be right.
PS I won't direct you to the crocodile reclassification in issue 14 of AJH published last month!
All the best

Attachment 6036

Got any reasons why I should keep you around?

[d_virginiana]

Now here's some advice to all here.
I post here an image or two of one of the wonderful snakes we have here and I ask you to all look at this and then if you have any snakes in your posession to take one out of it's cage and spend a full five minutes handling it and admiring it's magnificent natural beauty.
All the best

Attachment 6006Attachment 6007Attachment 6008Attachment 6009

Before he gets kicked off, I kind of want to point out to him that one of the 'one or two wonderful snakes' he has is actually a frog.

[thesnakeman]

"Before he gets kicked off, I kind of want to point out to him that one of the 'one or two wonderful snakes' he has is actually a frog".

On that note it may be worthwhile to lock this thread as I don't see it going anywhere.

All the best

[kibakiba]

I'd like to see it get locked... It'll take away the fun of replying, but I have a feeling you'll be gone completely too. That'll be a great thing.

[thamneil]

Goodbye Mr. Hoser. It is a shame that you failed, yet again, to impress your crowd through an online forum.

[chris-uk]

"Before he gets kicked off, I kind of want to point out to him that one of the 'one or two wonderful snakes' he has is actually a frog".

On that note it may be worthwhile to lock this thread as I don't see it going anywhere.

All the best

And it had so much potential, if only you'd been willing to enter into a discussion and explain the "evidence" and respond in a robust way to the critical response you received. Instead the place this thread has gone to a place where the credibility of Raymond Hoser (Herpetologist and Taxonomist) has been further undermined by Mr Hoser himself.