When a given person has the power of prestige behind him, his statements, even when attempts to describe pre-existing facts, are subconsciously taken as commands. When a person who does not have the power of prestige makes statements, those statements are, at best, taken as attempts to describe pre-existing facts or, more likely, as acts of either due submission or undue defiance.
Thus, when a professor at a prestigious institution comes up with a crackpot theory, people see merit in it - for, considered, as a command, it does have merit - and when a professor at a no-name institution comes up with a reasonable theory it is either judged according to its merits or dismissed.
An Author's Republic audio production.
