site banner
naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3771 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 9, 2022

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

7
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

All the mice models on fluoridated water (in amounts comparable to artificially fluoridated drinking water) show negative behavioral results

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0045653518319258

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C31&q=fluoride+animal+behavior&btnG=#d=gs_qabs&t=1665431458606&u=%23p%3DuJB1SuQhg9cJ

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C31&q=fluoride+mice&btnG=#d=gs_qabs&t=1665431688159&u=%23p%3DEEsRfJ6wwu4J

In particular the effects seem to increase anxiety and depression, and reduce exploration.

Is this not highly significant when (1) all the fluoride human studies focus on IQ, not behavior, (2) it is absurdly easily to use more than the recommended amount of toothpaste? see

And because this thread is for dumb questions: did the US government promote fluoride in order to “domesticate” the population, ie reducing the human version of mouse exploration?

Was this a known effect of fluoride when it was introduced to water supplies?

Not sure, but the Gov is big on secret programs of course

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.


New post guidelines

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!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats