Dude it's brisket, not brain surgery. Your uncle spent 30 years learning one pit and one fire, so of course he can read it blind. But you cook on your setup, not his, and a probe just tells you the temp so you're not guessing. Nothing wrong with using both, one hand on the meat and one eye on the readout. Ruining an $80 brisket hurts no matter how you slice it, so why toss out a tool that keeps that from happening. This whole debate only matters if you're trying to win an argument, not if you're trying to eat good food.

Sounds like the guy just told you to slow down, which is pretty basic advice anyone with eyes could give. Not sure one guy watching you for a minute counts as some big revelation.

My buddy did the same thing, showing the landlord the savings sealed it.