site banner
PaperclipPerfector  4mo ago (text post)   3249 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 17, 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.

5
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

What’s a current example of “A Thing” that’s limited to some cities? I figure with mass, interconnected culture, everything unifies pretty fast.

Sailing? No way. Sails are barely even viable as a hybrid solution. Sure, tech will improve, but a full sailboat is not going to be competitive on most routes.

…which is where my weird prediction comes in. Carbon capture is going to improve a lot by 2050. We’ll be using the most solar- or wind-friendly places in the U.S. to reassemble hydrocarbons, which in turn will be burned in our most energy-dense vehicles. Honestly, this might not be that weird. I don’t really know the state of biogas or whatever they’re calling it.

fraud

How is motherhood fraud supposed to work? Especially in China, world leaders in personal surveillance?

Especially in China, world leaders in personal surveillance?

Maybe my understanding is out of date, but I thought that China was also a world leader in bribing the people who interpret the surveillance footage as well

The same way ‘woman/minority owned business’ fraud does.

You’re talking about putting a woman/minority in charge at the most superficial level, then doing business exactly as you were before, right?

I don’t see how you’d do that for producing a kid.

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