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

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Thanks for your response, Peter. My previous message used the phrase
"full match" when describing a 1974 citation. Currently, the 1974
citation is the earliest which fits the template Peter has specified.
This full match appeared in the book "Give & Take".

My previous message also used the phrase: "partial match".

One partial match in 1913 fit the pattern: For every expert … another
expert … opposite side
Another partial match in 1964 fit the pattern: For every expert … counter-expert

I think these partial matches are interesting, but this is a
subjective judgment. Other people may believe that these partial
matches are too broad when compared to the desired full match.

Below is a full match for the "PhD" variant:

Date: February 1984
Symposium Title: The Not-In-My-Back-Yard Syndrome - Symposium Proceedings
Date of Symposium: May 13 and 14, 1983
Editor: Audrey Armour (Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University)
Statement from Jerry Delli Priscoli (Senior Policy Analyst, Institute
for Water Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
Start Page 194, Quote Page 197

[Begin excerpt]
Professionals should know the limits of professional expertise. One
consultant with whom I have frequently worked, has a favorite
expression: "For every PhD there is an equal and opposite PhD." Simply
put this means that professionals should know the limits of their
expertise.
[End excerpt]

The thematic match in the 1919 book by Charles Fort was posted because
the target saying is sometimes attributed to Charles Fort.

Garson

On Mon, Jul 14, 2025 at 10:50 AM mr_peter_morris at outlook.com
<mr_peter_morris at outlook.com> wrote:
>
> It isn't just the notion of different experts giving opposite opinions.
> Which
> I'm sure has existed since the dawn of time.
>
> What I want  is specifically a form of words  that echoes Newton's Law
> "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction"
>
> So really,  only quotes in the form  ""For every [X] there is an equal
> and opposite [X]"  should be counted.
>
> With [X] being, for example: expert, expert witness, scientist,
> economist, PhD

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