site banner
PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   2196 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for September 25, 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.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

The reaction to fraternity hazing incidents is extremely funny to me. “These poor willing adult male participants were socially pressured to do something humiliating to strengthen the bonds of friendship. Such harm can’t go unnoticed; we must publicly humiliate them on the news for millions of people to see and comment on while showing their faces on video whenever possible.” It’s just so stupid.

Frats market themselves as a conspiracy against outsiders that demands your dignity if you want to get in on it. It's not a bad thing that this is being attacked as bad and suboptimal and worthy of being shamed over. The victims of hazing are actually unscrupulous people trying to get in on it to perpetuate it, so it's fair if everyone sees their humiliation on the internet.

I mean that’s certainty one theory, but another theory would be that stressful experiences build brotherhood, which I recall reading in a study involving militant groups a long time ago. If fraternities selected and promoted suboptimal norms then we should expect to see members perform worse, but we see them perform better. In any case, America is one long humiliation ritual so it’s not actually a bad thing for young men to become habituated to this early, provided there is no actual harm being committed.

If fraternities selected and promoted suboptimal norms then we should expect to see members perform worse, but we see them perform better.

This is fallacious. We want to know the causal effect of frats not the cross sectional. You assume the cross sectional effect is the causal.

In any case, America is one long humiliation ritual so it’s not actually a bad thing for young men to become habituated to this early, provided there is no actual harm being committed.

This is more or less whatabboutism.

stressful experiences build brotherhood, which I recall reading in a study involving militant groups a long time ago.

Vague. Equivocated too. Stressful experience as a pack against the outside is different than antagonism within the pack. You know what real men are supposed to do to those who humiliate them?

I mean that’s certainty one theory, but another theory would be

Yes, I mean, another theory is we live in a simulation and frat boys are demons that come from the higher world to mess with virtual prisoners. Do you care which is true or is it enough for you that you can come up with «another theory».

You’re welcome to do a twin study on fraternity membership. You have my total support there. If modern American life involves a lot of humiliation, then training for humiliation is beneficial. Has nothing to do with Whataboutism.

You’re welcome to do a twin study on fraternity membership

Thank you. What do you think the point of that is though? First off it's the wrong method and the wrong parameter. Second off if you are good at understanding the current set of facts, your theory is already at <10% probability while mine is >90%. So, thanks for giving me your blessing to spend $100k on a study, maybe I will get on that when I have all of the money I should have.

If modern American life involves a lot of humiliation, then training for humiliation is beneficial.

Yes, good logic, Also, if fallout American life involves a lot of radiation, then exposing oneself to radiation is beneficial. Agreed?

Of course, that’s called hormesis. There are some interesting studies which concluded that small amounts of radiation are protective against larger radiation exposure and are conducive to longevity. I believe there was one interesting study about an apartment complex in Korea that had constant low levels of radioactivity. But it’s been a long time since I read about this. Probably back on SSC

I believe there was one interesting study about an apartment complex in Korea that had constant low levels of radioactivity.

Unless there's another, it was Taiwan (page 56).

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