If you want to have a productive discussion with someone, learning how to actually have a conversation is key! The more and more I talk with other people and interact with them, the more I realize how much of a true skill it is to have a, productive, conversation. There are many “traps” that exist within the world of having reasoned and valuable conversations, one of those traps being the Ad Hominem Fallacy. I’ve fallen prey to this trap many times as it is a very easy temptation to be suckered into. The good news is, there is an easy explanation to what is a pretty bizarre looking and sounding phrase: “ad hominem”. I think society as a whole would improve if we all improved our conversational skills and made our interactions as humans with one another more productive. If you are in pursuit of creating the most productive conversations possible, then I commend you! Let’s just be sure you are not doing what I’ve done many times in the past myself. Let’s make sure you have a full understanding of the ad hominem fallacy and why it’s not productive.