site banner
PaperclipPerfector  4mo ago (text post)   1959 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 3, 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.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

So it’s not the philosophical tradition of equality that got us the French and American revolutions, the 14th amendment, and the suffragists, all before IQ was really conceptualized. And it’s not the specter of communism, even though it influenced plenty of other groups to try their own flavors of radical egalitarianism. Nor can it be pure guilt-by-association with the Nazis; progressives certainly wouldn’t jump the gun there. And it’s definitely, certainly nothing to do with battles fought during the Civil Rights movement, such as the only Supreme Court case most people could think of relating to IQ.

No, women hate and fear IQ because they know it proves men are superior.

Seriously?

I think most people who fear IQ as a concept are generally unwilling to live in a world of winners and losers. They don’t want to admit that being born a loser is possible and that no amount of trying hard can overcome it. Women seem especially prone to this because they’ve been socialized to be “nice” and to believe that “if everyone had access to the stuff the rich have, they’d all succeed.” IQ is a monkey wrench in that concept of the world. A hard limit.

Why have you shaped your objection into one reddit-esque snark? The post would be more informative if you elaborated a bit more on each point instead.

I’d say it got the point across.

But sure. I think associations with racism are the key reason progressives are bearish on IQ research. They get their own Wikipedia article with top billing on the IQ page. By the time of Griggs v. Duke, the political valence was firmly settled. It didn’t get any less political by the Charles Murray era, when the criticism again focused on racial differences.

If the question of sex differences has gotten second billing since at least the Civil Rights movement, do you think it’s gotten more important to modern progressives?

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