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PaperclipPerfector  21hr ago (text post)   714 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 8, 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?

I'm going through C. B. Macpherson's The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism. So far it has made me wonder if I need to read Leviathan sooner.

Just finished the Divine Comedy last night. It was alright. I'm not really a poetry guy and that was a ton of poetry, but I guess I'm glad to have read one of the most famous works of Western literature. Not sure what's next, I have a few books kicking around at home in my queue but I might pick up the newest Dresden book and preempt those others.

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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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