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practical_romantic  1yr ago (text post)   3303 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 23, 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.

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So, what are you reading?

I'm flipping through some book of The Irregular from Magic High School. The anime has been a favourite. Something about the focused protagonist, the overtones of knowledge-based conflict, and the steady pacing.

The Down Town by Tappan Wright King and Viido Polikarpus. It's a relatively straightforward "lost in the fairyworld" narrative and I suspect there will be a heavy-handed environmental message by the end. Still, it's enjoyable in that fairytale sort of way and worked great to pass the time while I was laid up sick the last few days.

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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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