site banner
PaperclipPerfector  6mo ago (text post)   1987 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for June 13, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Never driven a German one (I could pretend it's because I'm Jewish, but the truth it there are just better options in the price segment I'm usually looking at, and the segment where they start getting good I just don't see a point to pay that much for a car in general). So I've driven Hondas, I've driven Toyotas, I've driven Mazda, I've driven Hyundai, I'm driving a Subaru now. No complaints really about any of them, they got me from point A to point B, didn't break excessively, didn't cost too much, and in general competently did what I needed them to do. I got into a highway crash in a Honda once, which duly sacrificed itself for my benefit and except for some bruises, I came out fine. The Subaru I have now is not fancy, but is comfortable, driving nicely and except for the entertainment system having brainfreezes occasionally (turning it off and on again does fix it) I am happy with it. Before buying it, I actually had some free money so I briefly considered buying something more expensive, and test-driven a bunch of fancy cars, including some German ones, and ultimately decided it's just not worth it and a boring middle-class car is exactly what I need.

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