[Ads-l] [for QI] "For every expert there is an equal and opposite witness"

[Ben Zimmer]

Looks like that should be Michell, not Michel. In _The Schumacher Lectures_
(1981), John Michell attributes the saying to Charles Fort.

https://archive.org/details/schumacherlectur0000unse/page/108/mode/1up

On Sun, Jul 13, 2025 at 11:12 PM mr_peter_morris at outlook.com <
mr_peter_morris at outlook.com> wrote:

>
> That should be : "equal and opposite expert"
>
>
> ------ Original Message ------
> From "mr_peter_morris at outlook.com<mailto:mr_peter_morris at outlook.com>" <
> mr_peter_morris at OUTLOOK.COM<mailto:mr_peter_morris at OUTLOOK.COM>>
> To ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU<mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Date 14/07/2025 02:24:12
> Subject [for QI] "For every expert there is an equal and opposite witness"
>
> Curious about the origin of this phrase. I can't find it in QI archives.
>
> "For every expert there is an equal and opposite witness"
>
> Quite often used to refer to expert witnesses in a trial.
>
> Wikipedia calls it Gibson's Law, without identifying who is Gibson.
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson%27s_law
>
> Frequently attributed to Arthur C. Clarke, sometimes called his fourth law.
>
> https://agamya.wordpress.com/2015/07/12/arthur-c-clarkes-three-laws/
>
> Lately attributed to author Jasper Fforde, who appears to have used it in
> a 2011 novel, far too late to be its origin.
>
>
> https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/360598-for-every-expert-there-is-an-equal-and-opposite-expert
>
> Here's an attribution to Michel (1981), but it's not clear on this limited
> preview who that is.
>
>
> https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/A_User_s_Guide_to_Community_Entry_for_th/HKTYUY91QVMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22equal+and+opposite+expert%22&pg=PA5&printsec=frontcover
>
>
> Can the sleuths of ADS do better?
>
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>
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