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PaperclipPerfector  12d ago (text post)   2089 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for October 17, 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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"Nobody 'makes you mad.' Nobody 'makes' you do anything. Don't make excuses for how you choose to feel and what you choose to do."

t. my mom (paraphrased)

As a kid I hated it, but as I became an adult I realized she was so very, very right. I'm endlessly amazed at how very many people age 30+ still blame others for their own emotions and choices.

I remind my kids of this frequently, and my wife occasionally. Very important to maintain an internal locus of control, especially in such a highly externalizing society.

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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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