There is altogether too much tendency among leftists (marxist and non-marxist) to think that their "anti-establishment" stance gives them the capacity to take a little fragment of knowledge from some specialized field and run with it. This is especially glaring in reference to the physical and biological sciences, linguistics, and pre-industrial history. For example, only someone who knows Russian, Polish, German, Church Latin, Old French, Old English, Middle English, French, and perhaps a couple more languages has any right to an independent opinion re the economy of medieval europe. And yet I know leftists (marxist and non-marxist) who will read a handful of tertiary or quaternary sources, form a hard and fast "leftist" position grounded only in those sources (which have to be more or less random picks since they are so plentiful), and set themselves up as independent authorities on the "left" or "anti-establishment" position on the life of pre-industrial peoples.
The knowledge of specialists is not all that easily available to non-specialists, and even understanding some material from (for example)genetics does _not_ qualify the non-geneticist to propound greatly on the the social role of genetics. There are all too many traps involved.
Yyyyessss . . . ; however, if anyone does form some opinion from hastily read snippets of sources, why not just let those who are more knowledgeable politely refute those snippets as part of an impromptu "lesson" in the subject? Let those who demonstrate their ignorance benefit from the knowledge of someone who has done more work on the subject (hopefully the snippet quoter won't go sulk afterwards and will reflect on what was said).
Your post seemed to me to come a smidge too close for comfort to accepting accredited authorities just blowing off people who make "basic" errors, instead of trying to show them their mistakes.
I'm probably being a bit picky, so if you authorities on LBO want to blow me off: Have at thee! I say thee nay! (I know, I know . . . read too many Thor comics in my early days)
Todd !{)>