site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   3527 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.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I really doubt anyone here is jealous of some state-school college graduate with a high GPA

you haven't actually done anything impressive yet

you could list a bunch of different accomplishments I don't have which I would find impressive; I really doubt anyone here cares even 1/10th enough about you to create or modify a list of impressive accomplishment to exclude or include them based on what you've claimed you've accomplished or they have or have not

you just haven't mentioned anything which is impressive, especially in the context of the top 5%, 3%, and 1% talk

I don't find your deconstruction dialogue interesting; what matters is necessarily a social construction, this doesn't discount them by their nature, and what matters is in our world in reality instead of the abstractions you constantly run into when anyone attempts to get you to interact with it

no one is having trouble separating any of this; all comments appear to have correctly recognized your escape to abstract "constructive criticisms" and other defenses when you received answers you didn't like or didn't coddle your feelings enough about your chances of getting into quant finance or possible pathways

I'm gonna head you off right now- you're starting to get pissy because people aren't being nice to you. If they were actually insulting you, I'd warn them too, but they are mostly just telling you that your self-assessment doesn't carry much weight. This thread is becoming unproductive, but you're driving it with your ego, and you need to stop. You started a thread asking a question, people are giving you answers. If you don't like the answers, you can disregard them, but don't get into a slinging match.

If you don't believe in classism, you shouldn't be insulted. If you do, then you not being of the correct pedigree is not an insult, it's just truth.

More comments

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