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PaperclipPerfector  11mo ago (text post)   3439 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 29, 2024

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.

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So, what are you reading?

I'm adding Legend of the Galatic Heroes to my pile. Perhaps I'll get past book 3 this time.

Currently working my way through Wind And Truth by Sanderson. Also, was at the bookstore recently and decided to pick up some more Heinlein after I enjoyed Starship Troopers so much. I got The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, will probably start that sometime later this week.

Adolin story carries hard tbh

For me it's the Dalinar story. Finding out more about the history of the world is fascinating. The Kaladin story is my second favorite for similar reasons.

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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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