Academic
From RationalWiki
Academics, a subcategory of "experts", are people who have studied a particular field for many years, becoming one of a small collection of people who are knowledgeable about one area.
Academics tend to write at length about topics they are interested in (and sometimes even contribute to topics no one cares about). One difference between academics and professors is that academics do not necessarily teach and are not necessarily associated with a particular university.
Generally, it is advisable when challenging academics, professors, or other experts that you show you are equally educated in the area you challenge them on, and that you are well read on the topic you wish to contest.
While most academic professional are highly specialized, they often must be well-versed in other fields that supplement their own. For instance, physicists usually study very complicated mathematics; biologists, psychologists and sociologists need to be fluent in statistical analysis, and theologians who study the Christian religion often study the Greek and Hebrew languages in order to gain understanding of historical texts.
