site banner
PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   2317 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 30, 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.

The Letter of Marque, instalment 12?

I think yes, 12. Though The Golden Ocean and The Unknown Shore are both worth reading at some point, they are not part of the Aubrey-Maturin universe.

I recommend setting aside a decent block to read the next five novels as a reasonably tightly woven block, which The Letter of Marque sets the stage for. Though, as @CertainlyWorse says, it's not the first of the continuing voyages of Aubrey and Maturin.

Thankyou for the shoutout.

I'm still in somewhat of a reader's depression at the end of the series. I haven't found its like.

To anyone that has not yet read the Aubrey Maturin series, I highly recommend it. As someone wittier than myself put it, 'It's Jane Austen for boys.'

It's Jane Austen for boys.

I ended up unironically reading Austen after, because I couldn't find anything else to fill the hole it left. Makes a lot more sense once you are used to the social norms from Aubrey-Maturin.

Did you include 21, The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey, in your circumnavigation? I like that it ends unfinished, like the series can just keep sailing, with our heroes continuing their never-ending adventures. Though I know some people prefer a sense of finality with an "ending" from Blue at the Mizzen.

Ha, I was going to comment that this novel really feels the most of the series like it starts and ends at arbitrary points (which I find charming, as no modern novelist would do so). Or maybe it was the previous, which literally cuts mid-scene. I thought they were really going to go to Chile in this novel, as it was set up as their next voyage in the previous. But come the end of the novel they still haven't got around to it!

I recently read Angel Down, half the gimmick of which was that it pretended to start and end mid-event. It's nonsense of course, the beginning and end points were deliberately chosen by the author and there's a clear narrative arc in between.

The Solar cycle by Gene Wolfe also has a habit of cutting out the transitions between books. Supposedly it was out of protest against a publisher who wouldn't let Wolfe finish his books as he liked, but maybe it pulls double-duty for allowing him to leave out some parts he himself considered boring. Or maybe he just liked leaving more mysteries around. Wouldn't surprise me.

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