site banner
PaperclipPerfector  4d ago (text post)   1987 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for November 28, 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.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

inability to differentiate Chinese names, they blend together way too much, I am already bad with names my entire life but god damn Chinese names are on another level

Personally, not as difficult as Korean names (I would estimate less than a quarter of Americans who watched all of Squid Game can remember even one character's name), but definitely a big issue, especially with single syllable names as is common in fiction. I almost wish they'd put the Chinese characters in parentheses after each instance, like writing "Guan Yu (關羽)", for some additional visual distinction, even for those who don't read Chinese.

They need to be translated, then it works quite well. You can actually remember them then.

Chinese map translated.

LLM suggested translations of Chinese terms.

All much better than the phonetic.

I'm of mixed opinion on these. I think Belt and Road or PLA are apt translations and better than what the LLM offers here. For fictional people, I think the translated approach could work given the inherent suspension of disbelief, but it starts sounding a bit silly for real people.

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