title: In git, how do I increase the context for merges?
body: <p>When I merge large changes, git often gets hopelessly confused because it's not using enough context lines. It gets mixed up between the similar-looking endings of two different subroutines that both happen to end with:</p>
  
  <pre><code>.
  return 1;
  .
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>(dots used here to represent blank lines)</p>
  
  <p>When I use 'git diff', I can say -U20 to see 20 lines of context. But can I tell git to use this flag when it merges, too?</p>
  
  <p>Could the answer be related to merge strategies/options, such as:</p>
  
  <pre><code>git merge -s recursive -X patience [branch]
  </code></pre>