site banner
PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   2411 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 1, 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.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Even voices skeptical of progress will often allow that one of the few unambiguous improvements in cost-adjusted standard of living has been in the realm of TVs. After years of a 14" Thinkpad, a $100 used iPad, various phones, and a couple of e-ink devices, I find myself in the market. Is there anything in the roughly 65" range for $250 that's more worth buying than the rest, or is it just a matter of whatever's on Amazon? Planning to use it as an output for a PC and never connect it to the Internet, generally in fairly dim rooms. Don't need above 60hz, but I have heard that adaptive sync or one of the proprietary versions thereof might be desirable for some of my intended applications (Zwift, lol). Thanks.

pick up a used OLED. any brand will blow any non-OLED out of the water. in my market, you'd be at 55" at your budget.

you'd be at 55" at your budget.

Yeah I think that's probably where I'm at too upon closer investigation. Any important tires to kick for durability or botnet/privacy, when buying used?

find an oled burn in tester youtube video. I'm not a security conscious person, but you could ask Claude to fix anything weird going on after you bought it.

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