> What is pointing out someone "logical fallacy?  It’s a wordsmithing way of telling them they are wrong

Look Charles, all science is based on logic and reasoning. If you dismiss logic, then anything is true if you say it is. A logical fallacy is like this: Apple and oranges are both fruit, therefore apples are oranges. That's not true and it's based on faulty logic. No matter how you spin it, an apple is not an orange. 

So when people invoke "ad hominem" they are saying that even if a person is a jerk, that doesn't invalidate what he is saying. We may stop listening to him, but he could still be correct. Or "non sequitir," as in the example above. The latter does not follow from the former. 

This is not some kind of linguistic mumbo jumbo, it's mostly common sense, a least among thoughtful people. We may use different writing and speaking styles, but underneath it there are the things we are talking about. Words do matter, however. You have to write clearly and plainly if you want to be understood. 

PLB

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