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PaperclipPerfector  8mo ago (text post)   2540 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 24, 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.

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Physical books or kindle + libgen. I find reading on the phone to be terrible, and really, kindle isn't great either.

Some of this is different strokes for different folks - I would never in a million years ago back to a separate music player.

I will say that I have a kindle and used it over my phone for a long time until I got an oversized phone and then suddenly reading on the phone didn't bother me.

Some of this is different strokes for different folks

Yes, definitely. I have an upcoming backpacking trip where my phone will be off or in airplane mode (when I need it for navigation, unfortunately) for 5ish days. It will be heavenly. And I'll be reminded when I get back how little I really need the phone and how much I pay per month to have a texting/email/wikipedia pocket tracking device.

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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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