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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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Some species has to be the very first sapient life in the galaxy. Maybe we're just the Progenitors.
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I'm reminded of Day of the Jackal; the OAS fanatics thoroughly convinced that once DeGaulle was assassinated, the populace would "rise up and sweep away the treasonous rabble" and allow the OAS to take over France.
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Some species has to be the very first sapient life in the galaxy. Maybe we're just the Progenitors.
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