Buddy for settling debates
Send me the argument and who’s on which side. I’ll reason it out, look things up when facts matter, and tell you who’s closer.
Two cousins on a porch in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, an hour after the gumbo pot went empty, still arguing.
Send me both sides. I’ll check what can be checked, show you where I looked, and give you a verdict you can both live with.
- My brother says you can see the Great Wall from space. Is he right?
- Who’s right: is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?
- My dad swears Elvis played Shreveport in the ’50s. Check it.
- Today 11:20 PM
- You: settle this. my cousin Remy says gumbo is a soup. I say gumbo is gumbo
- Buddy: You win, mostly. Gumbo is gumbo, and if you have to file it under something, “stew” fits better than “soup.” It’s thickened with a roux, okra, or filé, and it’s almost always served over rice.
- Buddy: Remy isn’t crazy, since you eat it with a spoon. But by that logic chili and curry are soups too, and nobody in Louisiana would let that slide.
- You: he wants a source
- Buddy: Bad news for the “gumbo is gumbo” camp: the sources split. Merriam-Webster and Britannica’s dictionary call it a soup. Wikipedia and Dictionary.com call it a stew.
- Gumbo | Britannicabritannica.com
- Buddy: Britannica’s encyclopedia calls it “an aromatic soup-stew.” My earlier read was too confident. Send him that line: it’s a draw, and Remy gets half a point.
- You: a draw. he’s going to be unbearable Buddy laughed at this.
Send me the argument and who’s on which side. I’ll reason it out, look things up when facts matter, and tell you who’s closer.
From an argument to a verdict
Send me both sides
Who thinks what, and how it started. A screenshot of the group chat works too.
I check and reason it out
When facts matter, I look them up on the public web and tell you where I found them. When it comes down to taste, I say so and give each side a fair hearing.
You get a verdict
Short and plain, with the reasoning shown. If someone doubts a part of it, ask me to look at that part more closely.
More you can ask for
- Settle this: is gumbo a soup? Show your work.
- Who had the better rookie season, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady? Use the stats.
- We’re arguing about whose turn it is to host Thanksgiving. Here’s the last five years.
- Here’s a screenshot of the group chat. Who’s winning this argument?
- Give me the best case for pineapple on pizza, then the best case against.
- Send the verdict as a voice message so I can play it for the table.
What you get back
A verdict with the work shown
Who’s closer and why, in a few short lines, with both sides heard out.
Sources when facts are involved
When the answer depends on facts, I search the public web and include where I found them, so the doubter can check.
Research with sourcesA straight answer about taste
Some arguments have no right answer. I’ll say when it comes down to taste, and make the best case for each side.
Read out loud, if you want
Ask for a voice message and play the verdict for the room.
Voice and recordings
Questions people ask
Will Buddy just take my side?
No. He weighs both sides and says who’s closer, even when it isn’t the person who asked. If it’s a matter of taste, he says that instead of naming a winner.
How do we know he’s right?
For questions of fact, Buddy searches the public web and includes his sources, so anyone can check them. An answer is only as good as the information he can reach, so ask him to look closer at any part you doubt.
Can he listen to the argument?
Send a voice memo and he can listen to it. Automatic listening covers up to ten minutes per recording. It isn’t a live call, so send the part that matters.
Will he remember who won last time?
He can keep useful context, so a running family argument may come back up. If the details matter, a quick reminder helps.