Identifying and Dismissing Irrelevancies in Discussions

Irrelevancies are statements or information that do not have any significant bearing on the issue or problem at hand. They may be interesting or amusing, but they do not contribute to a resolution or decision.

Examples of irrelevancies include:

1. Personal attacks or insults: These are not relevant to the topic being discussed and only serve to distract from the issue at hand.
2. Unverified rumors or hearsay: These can be harmful and misleading, and have no place in a productive discussion.
3. Off-topic discussions: If a conversation is supposed to be about one thing, but keeps veering off into unrelated areas, those off-topic discussions are irrelevancies.
4. Red herrings: These are false or misleading information that are introduced to distract from the real issue.
5. Ad hominem attacks: These are personal attacks on an individual's character, rather than addressing the argument or issue at hand.
6. Straw man arguments: These are misrepresentations of an opposing argument, making it easier to attack and discredit.
7. Non-sequiturs: These are statements that do not logically follow from what has been said before, and have no place in a productive discussion.
8. Tangents: These are side discussions that are not relevant to the main topic, but may be interesting or amusing.

It's important to identify and dismiss irrelevancies in order to keep a discussion focused and productive.