site banner
PaperclipPerfector  18hr ago (text post)   576 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 31, 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.

Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Does anyone else experience a sense of loss after finishing a great book?

When I was a child reading novels I did. Now I mostly feel accomplished. There's a lot of comfort in knowing I could read most books again and get more out of them.

Absolutely. I try to think of my children reading it in the future and it cheers me up a bit. But primarily a sense of accomplishment.

The Book of Revelation. I still recoil at 22:18:

“If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book.”

Man, someone predicted and hated fanfiction.

I've kept reading to my kids before bed, long past the ages when it would help their reading skills or sleep schedule or anything, in part because I've discovered that their commentary recaptures for me the magic of reading something for the first time.

They say you can truly enjoy great books twice: once for mystery and then once for dramatic irony. I figured out how to sneak in a third pass.

I finished the Aubrey Maturin series about a month ago. Afterwards I got about halfway through Midshipman Hornblower before putting it down in depression. I haven't been able to pick up a fiction book since.

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