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What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.

Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.

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If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!

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DefinitelyAnAlt

0 followers follows 0 users
joined 2022 September 29 03:49:09 UTC

User ID: 1378

DefinitelyAnAlt

0 followers follows 0 users joined 2022 September 29 03:49:09 UTC

No bio...

User ID: 1378

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Wellness Wednesday for May 28, 2025

DefinitelyAnAlt 17d ago

Thanks !

I'm bragging a bit ofc. So, I deserve to get a good ribbing.

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Wellness Wednesday for May 28, 2025

DefinitelyAnAlt 17d ago

Top 1 percentile :) , but just barely.
The lowest of the high salaries

Lowkey, entering the bottom 1 percentile is harder. ChatGPT says around $1500/yr. That's a tricky number to get right. Accidentally work an extra week on minimum wage, and you're at 3 percentile.

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Wellness Wednesday for May 28, 2025

DefinitelyAnAlt 18d ago

Yepp.

Avoiding lifestyle creep is priority #1.

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Wellness Wednesday for May 28, 2025

DefinitelyAnAlt 18d ago

Naah dude, no reason to be demoralized. Women love glasses. I know women who've asked their partner to wear glasses in bed.

Women find Dark-Academia to be incredibly hot. If you're a tech guy, then definitely lean into it. Pick up on one of these herringbone coats to begin with. Can always complete the look if you'd like.

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Wellness Wednesday for May 28, 2025

DefinitelyAnAlt 18d ago

Anons, I have happy news.

I have accepted a new job. It doubles my compensation.

With this, I'll (by some estimates) enter the top-1 percentile of individual compensation in the US.

It's marginal. But #FeelsGoodMan.

:)

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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 13, 2023

DefinitelyAnAlt 2yr ago · Edited 2yr ago

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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 13, 2023

DefinitelyAnAlt 2yr ago · Edited 2yr ago

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Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 12, 2023

DefinitelyAnAlt 2yr ago · Edited 2yr ago

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Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 12, 2023

DefinitelyAnAlt 2yr ago · Edited 2yr ago

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Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 12, 2023

DefinitelyAnAlt 2yr ago · Edited 2yr ago

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Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 12, 2023

DefinitelyAnAlt 2yr ago · Edited 2yr ago

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