We know Shadowstats is decieving us because they don't measure inflation, just add numbers to the official inflation numbers. You can read more about it if you google the topic. For example:
In a more pragmatic sense, if you can't be bothered to learn enough economics to evaluate the official number (which is understandable) going with the group that sounds crazy is a bad idea.
This author talks about outside view dismissals being a valid form of evaluating a claim in the context of a cult:
"But the outside view tells you something different. These people are wearing funny robes and beads, they live in a remote compound, and they speak in unison in a really creepy way. Even though their arguments are irrefutable, everything in your experience tells you you're dealing with a cult.
Of course, they have a brilliant argument for why you should ignore those instincts, but that's the inside view talking.
The outside view doesn't care about content, it sees the form and the context, and it doesn't look good."
https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1025266&sid...
In a more pragmatic sense, if you can't be bothered to learn enough economics to evaluate the official number (which is understandable) going with the group that sounds crazy is a bad idea.
This author talks about outside view dismissals being a valid form of evaluating a claim in the context of a cult:
"But the outside view tells you something different. These people are wearing funny robes and beads, they live in a remote compound, and they speak in unison in a really creepy way. Even though their arguments are irrefutable, everything in your experience tells you you're dealing with a cult.
Of course, they have a brilliant argument for why you should ignore those instincts, but that's the inside view talking.
The outside view doesn't care about content, it sees the form and the context, and it doesn't look good."
https://idlewords.com/talks/superintelligence.htm