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

[mr_peter_morris@outlook.com]

Thanks for that, Ben.

It's not unlike the things Charles Fort said, but I'm dubious.

As  Mark Twain said: "Never trust the attribution of a
quote, unless book and chapter are specified, and then only
half the time"

Still, he's  another candidate for the originator.



------ Original Message ------
From "Ben Zimmer" <bgzimmer at gmail.com<mailto:bgzimmer at gmail.com>>
To "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>>
Cc ADS-L at listserv.uga.edu<mailto:ADS-L at listserv.uga.edu>
Date 14/07/2025 04:17:27
Subject Re: [for QI] "For every expert there is an equal and opposite witness"

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<mailto:mr_peter_morris at outlook.com> <mr_peter_morris at outlook.com<mailto: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><mailto: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><mailto: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><mailto: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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