I notice this pattern among my smarter friends, as well - when someone says something vague or badly defined, they try to understand the person's mindset, and c

I notice this pattern among my smarter friends, as well - when someone says something vague or badly defined, they try to understand the person's mindset, and clarify their ideas, instead of rejecting the faulty semantics they used to express them. One can always find semantics to argue about, and petty people usually do.