[emcq]

Why is it that people like scratching the hypocrisy itch? It's not even a logical fallacy. In fact, pointing out hypocrisy as a way of negating the merits of an argument _is a logical fallacy_: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu_quoque

I think we as commenters on HN should hold ourselves to a higher bar.

Pointing out hypocrisy changes the conversation in a way that avoids discussing the relative merits of an argument. It doesn't invalidate the original argument - it's just that, rhetoric.

For example, I'm sure there were other hypocritical posts today. Isn't it hypocritical to try and fight hypocrisy by commenting on specific political points in a discussion but not others? (please dont take this argument seriously as I'm just offering it as an example of rhetoric)

[jpttsn]

Thing is, what guarantee does your opponent have that you will care about muslims when there is a democrat in the White House?

It's like a game theory problem. Rhetoric becomes meaningless: there needs to be a track record that shows that you cooperate.

That's why hypocrisy is invoked in the debate; rather than an argumentative tool, I see hypocrisy accusations as "flags" that say "I can't cooperate because of your low credibility"

If this sounds harsh, I sincerely apologize.

[rdtsc]

People don't talk in first order predicate logic, it is just not how it works. Insisting on it is silly I think. Once in while mentioning "Ha! got ya, you just committed logical fallacy ${Latin_term}!" works. And is certainly very useful in rigorous arguments, but how fun is to converse with someone who throws that around after every sentence?

[emcq]

I had no suggestion that people converse in first order predicate logic.

I did suggest we are all smart enough here that we can have rich discussions without committing clear logical fallacies. HN is special in that the majority cares about thoughtful discussions and reasoning. Because of this I often read the comments in HN before the article, where historically the signal to noise ratio is quite high.

There are plenty of other forums for rhetoric or fun conversations.