site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2925 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 16, 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.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Maybe you misunderstood the question. That doesnt explain why you think they already have those feelings.

I don't think I do understand the question, I thought "All common behaviours in my experience" explained why I think they had those feelings. I saw other kids in primary school behaving in ways that were motivated by a special affection that wasn't normal friendship. Add to that that some people are shy and there were probably other people who had those same feelings but didn't openly express them.

those attributions where made up on the flimisiest of pretexts and really just exist for the sake of the teasing

It was made up for the sake of teasing but the effectiveness of the teasing relies on its plausibility. We didn't tease each other about being bad at driving.

Outside of those kind of inferential observations there were the open admissions. You'd tell a friend that you liked a girl, or he'd tell you, or one of the girls would tell her friend to tell you that she liked your friend, and there was no confusion about what was meant by "liking" someone. All of those likings were directed at their opposite sex. All that together suggests to me that many kids can intuit which sex they are attracted to before reaching puberty. Without seeing these kinds of discussions on the internet I would have thought it was rare not to.

Out of interest, when you were a kid what internal response did you have when you happened upon risque images?

the effectiveness of the teasing relies on its plausibility

Nah, we used "gay" as a universal insult before we knew what it meant also.

or one of the girls would tell her friend to tell you that she liked your friend

That did happen a couple times. At least half those times I know the middle friend made it up to troll her. I do/did think some of them were "real" but... idk, the girls had a lot of vaguely romance-coded social activities, most of which obviously werent that serious. Also, no boy made an admission of any kind.

when you were a kid what internal response did you have when you happened upon risque images

I dont remember anything. Im sure it happended but it must not have had much impact.

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