Walker wrote: > Yes, definitely -- conflation is a critical mistake, but it is most likely to occur when it is convenient for one's position. Throw perpetual motion machines, homeopathy, polywater and cold fusion all into the same category. It does not matter that there appear to be basic differences that make the comparison strained, at best.
There are differences of course. Identical analogies serve no purpose. I assume we all agree that homeopathy and polywater and perpetual motion are bogus. And so when someone makes an argument that applies equally to all of them, then the comparison shows why it is not persuasive to someone who also thinks cold fusion is bogus. That's the purpose of analogies. If you want to convince skeptics that cold fusion is real, arguments that apply to perpetual motion won't work.
