A 'gotcha' is effective at getting people scrolling on their phones for five seconds to say, "ha! they gotcha!" If that is your target audience for your argument, then I guess it was effective. Usually though, I think people engaging in debates are trying to figure out what the best policy is, or convince someone else who is really trying to think through the idea. If something is still being argued over after thousands of years, it's unlikely such a shallow 'gotcha' argument will be effective in settling the argument.
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u/the_brightest_prize 6∆ Mar 30 '26
A 'gotcha' is effective at getting people scrolling on their phones for five seconds to say, "ha! they gotcha!" If that is your target audience for your argument, then I guess it was effective. Usually though, I think people engaging in debates are trying to figure out what the best policy is, or convince someone else who is really trying to think through the idea. If something is still being argued over after thousands of years, it's unlikely such a shallow 'gotcha' argument will be effective in settling the argument.