Meno: “So if he was talking about something, but he thought he was talking about something else, then it doesn’t matter what he thought he was talking about? I mean, when you respond to someone, shouldn’t you respond to THEM, not just the words that they said?”
Huh? I lost you. This was my point: If Reuven made a comment, and Shimon “attacks” Reuven’s comment, it makes no sense for Shimon to then claim that he was talking about something else. If he is “attacking” Reuven’s comment, then he has to be referring to the situation that Reuven posed.
I thought that was what happened here, but honestly, I don’t know if I’ve been paying so much attention to the thread, and I’m too tired and busy to reread the whole thing, so I might be guilty of doing what I’m talking about.