PtolemicNot much point in using an analogy when you are...

Ptolemic

Not much point in using an analogy when you are discussing oil reserves. Irony is definitely off the menu. I am glad that you picked up on the idea that 12 people selected at random should decide the oil reserves.

I note that your proposition "I agree with the latter" is:

In that case we are relying on one person who is not a registered engineer in Texas and we should totally ignore Stockanalysis and the other analysts as we can clearly see they have no qualifications?

I am glad we have reached agreement but "totally" ignoring could be one adverb too many.