site banner
PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   2000 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 21, 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.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

What's the verdict on prophylactic wisdom tooth excraction?

My dentist told me that he thought I should leave them alone until they start bothering me. Like @FiveHourMarathon, they were intermittently painful for small periods of time, so I eventually decided to get them out. Other than a couple days of pain, I don't miss them or anything. Weirdly, only 3 came in. The two on the bottom were in there good and they have to be broken up with a drill, and they were quite painful afterwards. The one on the top left side was a clean yank. They probably could have left that one in just fine. Unlike other people I've talked to, the dentist gave me a choice between laughing gas and just novocaine; I chose the latter, so I had the unique experience of being awake during the operation.

I was awake for my wisdom teeth removals (yes, plural!) as well. Mine never bothered me, except that a couple got infected over the years so those were removed. They don't bother to knock you out for just one tooth, which was fine with me. The main thing that I found striking was that it's psychologically very weird. There's a part of your brain that recognizes that what's going on should really hurt and is bracing for it, but the pain never kicks in due to the local anesthetic. It's a very bizarre sensation.

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