[al2o3cr]

" I went to the library, sifted through a bunch of academic journals (which the instructor believed to be the only legitimate source of truth, unsurprisingly), and found an article with a thesis and supporting evidence that paralleled my argument! I showed the instructor this paper, and just like that she said "oh, okay. The thesis makes sense.""

Congratulations, you just learned the difference between making unsubstantiated assertions and producing research.

[kefka]

This is a classic appeal from authority. Is the idea worth discussing/debating/exploring? If not, leave it. If so, explore it. But this "professor's" opinion is tied to someone else who published as the authority.

All in all, it's a great way to encourage group-think. But then again, so are most academic departments.

[nradov]

You missed the point. Those journal articles themselves are also nothing but unsubstantiated assertions. They may in turn cite other journal articles, but if you keep digging all the way down there's no provable factual basis to any of it.

[politician]

What was the impact score of the paper he showed to the instructor? Did they do a rigorous search of the space to determine whether the paper was "correct" or "incorrect"?

It sounds to me that the reaction in favor was as knee-jerk as the the reaction against the thesis in the first place. This isn't "producing research" or "making unsubstantiated assertions"; it sounds like pandering to the instructor's bias.

[SpaceRaccoon]

Who did the author of the paper cite?