The Role of Expertise in Discovery. Comment on Sutton and Griffiths (2018). Using Date Specific Searches on Google Books to Disconfirm Prior Origination Knowledge Claims for Particular Terms, Words, and Names. Social Sciences 7: 66

Abstract

In claiming that expertise are unnecessary for making discoveries that contribute to knowledge, Sutton and Griffiths in their 2018 paper made analogous comparisons with metal detection, then proceeded to provide six examples in support of their argument. This response demonstrates the fallacy of that analogy, and reveals how each of those six examples were undermined by a lack of expertise in the relevant disciplines. The mistakes contained in that paper by Sutton and Griffiths make it evident that expertise are required to identify the validity of a discovery, and ensure that a claim is not false. This assurance is particularly needed for the bold claims made by the Sutton and Griffiths paper.