@mark noble,
Don't ask me! I'm no professor. Open a textbook, or ask one of the physics guys here.
And if relying on someone else's expertise makes me a sheep, then BAAAA!! I'll take it as right until I have a reason not to.
Question everything yes, but you can take that too far. If all knowledge is suspect then you're left with nothing. If everything is waiting for your personal verification, you'd have to be an expert in every field....
Progress is only possible if you can build on the last guy's work. If you don't trust it, you'll have to start from the beginning.