site banner
PaperclipPerfector  7d ago (text post)   2515 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for August 21, 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.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Yes, that most men want me dead is rather the elephant in the room through this entire conversation. I don't think they would have in most times and places though. That's culture.

Yes, that most men want me dead is rather the elephant in the room through this entire conversation.

Yes but I'm more annoyed with you ignoring 90% of what ask you than with your neoteny preferences. Are you doing that because you think I'm your enemy? Or do you just have no more defense of your model (not trying to «own» you or anything, just funny I can't even have a discourse with someone who largely agrees with me on this topic, much less a debate with someone that disagrees).

I don't think they would have in most times and places though. That's culture.

In most populations you were below average neoteny preference, but not far from the average. I think you think we still live in Ancient Rome when men were mainly attracted to 16 year olds. No, we're 500 years into the European Marriage Pattern. It's not mere «ideas» that caused the change.

Hmm, that's an interesting point; I may have underestimated the involvement of HBD-type factors, the Hajnal line, etc, which I intellectually know are factors but don't tend to think about much. (The studies I was thinking of were modern, not historical, but I don't know off the top of my head the demographic makeup of the men studied.) But I conversely think you underestimate the impact of modern feminism. The age of consent memeplex clearly centers the idea of protecting young women from predation, at the expense of the male sex drive; that men who argue with it have freakish degenerate outlier desires is a subordinate claim its supporters make, and not something consistently sincerely believed. Sometimes they even say the opposite, that they are trying to avoid giving men social permission to do something that they already want to do and are looking for excuses for. Women have generally been the drivers of gender politics since at least suffrage.

I did initially assume greater hostility from you than was real, but not confidently; it was out of confusion towards what I still perceive as a strange meta-contrarian stance.

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