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PaperclipPerfector  17d ago (text post)   2453 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 23, 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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So, what are you reading?

I'm still on The Dawn of Everything. Not much progress.

I'm reading through Jonathan Franzen's Freedom right now and damn, I've been devouring it. I was worried given the critical acclaim that I'd hate it, but it's been extremely enjoyable so far. Reminiscing about my days in the midwest and the people I knew from my time there.

I was worried given the critical acclaim that I'd hate it, but it's been extremely enjoyable so far.

I had the same reaction. It was a great read.

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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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