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PaperclipPerfector  14hr ago (text post)   311 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 25, 2026

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?

Got two more sections of Capital to finish, which I will be very glad to be done with. Hoping to write up an effort post here and on my blog after I finish. I think it will generate an interesting discussion not only because Marx presents a convincing critique of capitalism (although I think his central premise of the labor theory of value is wrong, or at least incomplete) but also because it's been illuminating to see how the leftist group I've been reading it with has gone from worshiping Marx to understanding him as the flawed, snarky philosopher that he is.

Also planning on finishing up Outlive by Peter Attia today. Also going to write-up an effort post on this for Wellness Wednesday. Think it's a fantastic book, but I disagree slightly with his prescriptions and want to add a few of my own.

Also working on Harry Potter 7 in Italian.

In spite of how insightful and relevant I'm finding it (and how short it is), my progress on The True Believer has been slow.

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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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