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naraburns  nihil supernum  3yr ago (text post)   Edited 3yr ago   6433 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 13, 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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Is there some idea I'm missing?

There are advantages to having an opponent that is hierarchically organized: you can negotiate with them. They're less dangerous because you can make a deal, where a disorganized group is toothpaste that can't be put back in the tube. BLM is a great example of a "group" that is more like a reflex today, even if every [corrupt] BLM leader and every member of the congressional Black caucus signed on to a series of reforms and said BLM is over, you'd still get a riot if there was a bad shooting.

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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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