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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   2622 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 8, 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.

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I guess everyone here are motteizeans by definition. Not American though. Do you mean enrolling for higher level courses basically?

Yes. In America it is generally possible for bright high schoolers to take college and high school classes simultaneously- sometimes literally the same class. In Texas community college classes are free for high school students who meet academic qualifications, for example.

How does that actually work?

My first EE math course basically speedran a review of highschool math in 2-3 weeks (the entire 2.5 years worth of it) and then spent the next 3 months teaching roughly the same amount of new stuff as our 3 year high school math had compared to elementary school. Some math geniuses could probably deal with that but I have a hard time seeing how anyone else could (or why they'd bother with the high school subject in the first place if they were at that level).

What is this place?

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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!

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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.


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