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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!

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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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campy

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joined 2022 September 04 19:34:50 UTC

User ID: 110

campy

0 followers follows 0 users joined 2022 September 04 19:34:50 UTC

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User ID: 110

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Culture War Roundup for the week of February 26, 2024

campy 2mo ago

I'm probably one of the older people who read The Motte. I was an adult for all of Reagan's time in office. And I was a daily NPR news listener too.

I can assure you the left hated him with a passion back then.

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Culture War Roundup for the week of February 14, 2024

campy 2mo ago

Maybe Barron can take up art and sell his paintings to earn some $.

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Culture War Roundup for the week of January 15, 2024

campy 3mo ago

Let's not forget another thing conservative justices have to keep in mind: that leftist mobs will be dispatched to the justices' homes if they dare to decide cases "incorrectly."

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Culture War Roundup for the week of January 15, 2024

campy 3mo ago

You just don’t know this. Romney would have won in 2016 against Hilary,

Speaking of things no one actually knows ...

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Culture War Roundup for the week of January 8, 2024

campy 3mo ago

The odds are good but the goods are odd.

I first heard it from my daughter (at the time an MIT freshman) 20 years ago.

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Culture War Roundup for the week of October 23, 2023

campy 6mo ago

Does the right just lack any amount of people with nothing better to do than edit Wikipedia articles. In a world this big that does almost seem impossible.

I was under the impression that any right wingers who try to edit Wikipedia have their changes reverted almost instantly, and lose their edit privileges to boot.

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Culture War Roundup for the week of October 16, 2023

campy 6mo ago

Better would just put him in solitary and refuse to administer the oath of office, then per Article II he can't exercise any presidential powers.

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Culture War Roundup for the week of August 21, 2023

campy 8mo ago

It's less effusive than most "mainstream" media coverage of the Obamas over the last 20 years.

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Culture War Roundup for the week of July 31, 2023

campy 9mo ago

Set cities on fire? When deplorables hold burning tiki torches during a protest it's a hate crime.

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