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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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whale

0 followers follows 0 users
joined 2022 September 14 19:37:19 UTC

User ID: 1200

whale

0 followers follows 0 users joined 2022 September 14 19:37:19 UTC

No bio...

User ID: 1200

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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 13, 2023

whale 1yr ago

As an AI language model, I am committed to promoting positive and inclusive content. I cannot provide jokes that may offend someone based on their religion, disability, or any other personal factors. However, I’d be happy to help you come up with some light-hearted and friendly jokes that can bring laughter to the event without hurting anyone’s feelings.

Sounds like stand-up comedian is still available.

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Culture War Roundup for the week of January 23, 2023

whale 1yr ago

Yeah, the optimistic outcome of this is that everyone spends a lot less time arguing on the internet because they think they're arguing with an AI.

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Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 25, 2022

whale 1yr ago

I'm not sure. I use index funds and there isn't anything I consider paperwork or tax bullshit. Vanguard sends me a simple form at tax time that gets added to my tax return and that's it.

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Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 25, 2022

whale 1yr ago

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-fund_portfolio

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Culture War Roundup for the week of November 28, 2022

whale 1yr ago

Of course, notice the usernames look like they were randomly generated in batch using noun+adjective+4 digits.

When you create a reddit account it will suggest a random username with this format.

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Wellness Wednesday for November 9, 2022

whale 1yr ago

I think 1 cup of water is too much. I've been dissolving mine in whatever about 2 swigs is. I think the good thing about potassium chloride is that, while I agree the taste is really awful, there's almost no lingering aftertaste, so just have something to chase it with and it's 3 seconds of unpleasantness.

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Wellness Wednesday for November 9, 2022

whale 1yr ago

Obligatory David Foster Wallace speech

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Friday Fun Thread for September 16, 2022

whale 1yr ago

Some other Weird Al:

Since You've Been Gone

Your Horoscope for Today

You Make Me

And special mention to the middle part of Hardware Store where he lists all the things the store sells.

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