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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   3477 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 30, 2026

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.

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Yeah, that's how that works. Those are the assumptions involved. Society is a trap for normal people whereby they get fleeced by the smart ones. This is good or bad if you like; else it simply is.

What I'm not clear on is what you're asking.

You can start with the sentences with question marks at the end.

Edit: sorry, I have to revisit just what a smartass response this is from you. Imagine a scenario where someone says to another interested party “did you know that the Marianas Trench is deeper than Mount Everest is tall?” Do you find yourself having to bite your tongue to avoid saying something like “I—Yeah, just what did you think 10,984 meters meant? Deep or shallow if you like.”

Who here makes extra payments on his mortgage? Or has a paid-off house?

I make extra payments on loans, given that the interest rate makes this rational, and do not have a paid-off house.

What in the scam?

See previous response.

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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."

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