Someone I was talking to observed that geeks are far more likely to use the term disingenuous in their arguments than call someone a liar or the like, and wondered why that is.

I think the answer is pretty simple. We’ assume that if you’re smart enough to know what disingenuous means, you’re smart enough to know that you just tried to pull some bullshit logic to justify your position even if you pretend you didn’t.

Plus, it’s more polite.