This can be a substantial problem in psychology, even when the original "memetic war" has real scientific content and consequences. Debates between behaviorism and cognitive psychology (for example) are often very attractive and useless tangents for anyone discussing the validity of clinical treatments from cognitive and/or behavioral traditions, when the empirical outcomes of treatment are the original topic at hand.
This can be a substantial problem in psychology, even when the original "memetic war" has real scientific content and consequences. Debates between behaviorism and cognitive psychology (for example) are often very attractive and useless tangents for anyone discussing the validity of clinical treatments from cognitive and/or behavioral traditions, when the empirical outcomes of treatment are the original topic at hand.