Yes but in the larger picture - of all the factors that conspire against you to work harder on the bike- it's a non-issue because aero and rolling resistance plays a much more pronounced role.

The issue at hand is a discussion of torque.* Homeboy is claiming that he has torque enough to be a masher. It's not a baseless claim - people have different styles. Compare and contrast Jan Ulrich (masher who spins against a big gear) and Lance Armstrong (spins above 90 rpm all the time). Physiologically, the spinner is more efficient because mashing causes early muscle fatigue. However, both can put out the same power** at different RPMs.


* Torque is essentially the result of how hard (not how fast) you can press on the pedals.

**Power is the rate you can do that. To most cyclists, having low enough gears, power is the primary concern. If it starts to become too difficult to push on the pedals as the slope increases, you gear down and spin faster.