site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1308 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 22, 2025

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.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

  • Hoh Rain Forest and the short hall-of-mosses hike is unmissable. If you had to pick one. It has to be this. There is no place in the US like Hoh-rain-forest. Olympic national park is massive.
  • My 2nd recommendation would be Hurricane Ridge and the Hurricane hill hike. Great drive, great views.
  • Rialto Beach-> Hole in the wall is the perfect long stroll. The day I was there, the Pacific was roaring. Gives you newfound respect for this behemoth of an ocean. No other Ocean compares to the Pacific. The hike doesn't end at any point. You can keep going forward, but be wary of the tides.
  • Cape Flattery is a nice short walk. The drive is amazing, if a bit out of the way. The views at Cape flattery are beautiful. And for cookie points, it's the lower-48's north western most point.
  • Mt. Storm king is a short but demanding hike. The views are unbeatable. The last section has ropes and is a bit vertigo inducing. Still recommend it. I generally love this area. There is kayaking near lake crescent. And Granny's cafe has good food, as does the lake crescent lodge.

Some tips:

There are nice waterfalls in Olympic, but Oregon has the best waterfalls in the country. So nothing I can recommend would impress (Solduc, Marymere). Definitely spend one day up the Columbia river in Oregon.

On the way down from the Olympic, stop by the world's largest Sikta Spurce and the Tree of life. They should be 5 minute stops each.

Don't stop by Forks, Washington. It was popularized by Twilight. I passed through it, and the town made me feel uneasy. It's probably safe, but has the air of a sad place that's been left behind.

Thank you so much!

Definitely gonna take the two hour trip to hall of mosses and then take the rest of the day to explore and work our way back it looks like!

For Hall of Mosses, remember to get there early. Parking can be tricky if you get there past 8-9 am.

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