Reply To: Paskening from the Shulchan Aruch (without knowing the Gemara and Rishonim)

“Patur: Reading what you posted, it would seem to me that the issue of paskening from the sh”a is not a question of whether the sh”a is right, rather it’s a matter of applying the correct laws of the sh”a without the proper background knowledge.”

The second issue definitely. As for whether the Sh”a is right, I think a better way to say it would be whether the Sh”a’s METHODOLOGY is right.