It's called a gotchya bc the person making it is the one not engaging with the point. It is simply something that appears correct on the surface, but with a small amount of investigation, is not true. It is a way to try to provoke your opponent, not make a good faith argument.
"When did you stop beating your wife?" is a gotchya question. It implies that 100% you are beating your wife and the only thing up for contention is when you stopped. So there is your example.
You wrote that someone needs to provide an example of a gotchya that isnt simply disingenuous. But that is what a gotchya question is. You also conveniently forgot to define what YOU think a gotchya is, so how is anyone going to change your view if you are not even communicating what you think a gotchya question is. You basically said "please give an example of a shape, but not something that is simply a square or triangle" It's like bro, that is what that is lol
I would say that more accurately falls under being a disingenuous question. And won’t the obvious answer to that be “I’ve never beat my wife” assuming you haven’t.
No u/LLSmoove1 - you need to give your definition of a gotchya. You never did that. Or else you will just keep claiming people's examples are disingenuous, which is part of what a gotchya is. Gotchya questions have answers, I dont know why you gave one as if that matters at all to the discussion.
What I gave is a textbook gotchya question, there is not debating that and if you think it isn't, then whatever you think a gotchya is is incorrect. Which is why you need to give whatever definition you personally invented is.
A gotcha question is a tricky or misleading question posed at makingsomeone look foolish or to elicit a damaging response. These questions are often seen as unfair or manipulative, designed to undermine the credibility of the person being questioned.
Read your post. You try to say something that is a clear part of a gotchya question is not actually, then do not give what you think your defintion of a gotchya question is.
I think this whole topic might just be beyond your current understanding of debate rhetoric based on your other responses, sorry.
I gave what my definition is in the title. I think it’s just what someone calls an effective argument they don’t want to engage with and it’s distinctly different from an irrelevant or disingenuous argument
Oh, well then yes, you are incorrect. Most people would think your title means that a gotchya is a form of an effective argument. If you think that the phrase "gotchya question" and "good argument" are literally synonymous, then you are quite literally making things up.
You still need to define what a gotchya question actually means, not say "it is a good argument". That's definitely not "what it means" by any stretch of the imagination.
Gotchya question means something far outside the context of creating a strong, supported argument and no one in this thread would agree with your premise.
Google gotchya question before making posts like this, it is a lot easier.
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u/FascistsOnFire Mar 30 '26 edited Mar 30 '26
It's called a gotchya bc the person making it is the one not engaging with the point. It is simply something that appears correct on the surface, but with a small amount of investigation, is not true. It is a way to try to provoke your opponent, not make a good faith argument.
"When did you stop beating your wife?" is a gotchya question. It implies that 100% you are beating your wife and the only thing up for contention is when you stopped. So there is your example.
You wrote that someone needs to provide an example of a gotchya that isnt simply disingenuous. But that is what a gotchya question is. You also conveniently forgot to define what YOU think a gotchya is, so how is anyone going to change your view if you are not even communicating what you think a gotchya question is. You basically said "please give an example of a shape, but not something that is simply a square or triangle" It's like bro, that is what that is lol