site banner
naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   2820 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 13, 2023

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.

4
Top Bottom New Old Controversial
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

"When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." -- Mark Twain

It took me until 31, but he's right.

And then you have kids and find out your parents were parents and you were a child all along. My husband and I have gained a newfound awe towards our mothers now that we have a baby. Kinda-sorta towards the fathers. It’s like a circle. As a baby, your parents are everything, especially moms. They can make themselves disappear and reappear with a wave of their hands! Fricking magic right there. Then you grow to look at them as idiots who keep getting in the way of your genius, and then you have children and realize your mom’s a saint all along. Dad’s always been a cad, but a lovable one who’s better than your thought.

On the deadlift-backpain note, having a child in our early 30’s made us realize we should have started in our 20’s. Little poopface was kicking our butts physically before he hit 10 pounds. Both our backs are sore despite efforts towards proper posture and bending, one of my wrists is always tender from carrying the baby, my husband’s feet hurt from walking the baby around. I still think early 30’s is on the young side of adult, but it turns out to also be close to middle age.

My parents' favourite line when I was a kid was "I can't wait until you have kids of your own".

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