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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2468 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for October 3, 2025

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.

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If this is the motte, then what’s the bailey?

The stubborn 10 pounds that's spilling out of my pants. (╥﹏╥)

Big dick problems?

just the belly (╥﹏╥)

10 pounds? Those are rookie numbers, son.

Unfortunately.

This is year I get fit. (he said for the 5th time.)

No but really. I look great at 185lb and look fat at 200lb. The 15lb makes all the difference.

I've started doing cardio again. I'm cautiously optimistic. (What is this, wellness wednesday?)

(My Rothfuss-esque pathological need to reveal my inner monologue in brackets is unbecoming of a middle aged man. But, such is life)

If using an excessive amount of parentheses is wrong, I don't want to be right. (They're cool)

Parentheses are fine, you just don't want to have parentheticals inside each other lol. The ACOUP author does that and it gets really hard to follow sometimes.

LISP programmers of the world unite!

When in doubt, get fucking jacked. I suck at losing weight. But if you can't shrink the waist to keep that classic V shape, you can increase the chest, back and shoulders.

That's the plan! Been alternating between weightlifting and swimming. I'll report back end in December.

It used to be a podcast, don't know if it's still going on.

Last one was April 2024. I was talking with Ymeskhout about trying for one in late March of that year, but even when we fired up the Discord call it didn't really go anywhere successful, and then his last post on the motte was last April, and he deleted his x twitter account somewhere around the same time frame. Still active on substack, so doing... well, I won't say okay, but still typing.

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.


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