One of the biggest time wasters in any intellectual endeavor is the "tangent", i.e., a related topic which brings us away from the main point. Discussion of what someone had for breakfast this morning is really unrelated to what we all need to do to end world hunger. But it makes a great debate point; it's rhetoric, grandstanding. | One of the biggest time wasters in any intellectual endeavor is the "tangent", i.e., a related topic which brings us away from the main point. Discussion of what someone had for breakfast this morning is really unrelated to what we all need to do to end world hunger. But it makes a great debate point; it's rhetoric, grandstanding. |