site banner
TheDag  Per Aspera ad Astra  1yr ago (text post)   3038 thread views

Calling all Lurkers: Share your Dreams of Effortposting

It’s been pointed out recently that the topics discussed in the Culture War thread have gotten a bit repetitive. While I do think the Motte has a good spread on intellectual discussion, I’m always pushing for a wider range (dare I say diversity?) of viewpoints and topics in the CW thread.

I was a lurker for years, and I know that the barrier between having a thought and writing a top level comment in the CW thread can loom large indeed. Luckily I’m fresh out of inspiration, and would love to hear thoughts from folks about effortposts they want to write but haven’t gotten around to.

This of course applies to regulars who post frequently as well - share any and all topics you wish were discussed in the CW thread!

28
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I do comment quite often, but I rarely make a top level post.

I have a few I'd like to make, but haven't had the time to realize fully.

  • The essence of comedy - language is a crutch. Inspiration: 2, 3, 1

  • Self-defeating cycles of resentment. eg: The exact things that make you an Incel, make it harder to stop being an Incel, and lead to standard advice making you even more of an Incel.

  • Your diet lacks in Macros - why Biden is a bad president and plotting the fall of the American empire

    • Micros = low impact local issues with immediate impact

    • Macros = strategic issues that define the fate of a country over generations

    • Western media and political leadership have polarized populations on micros. Trans bathrooms and police accountability are QOL changes with local impact that merely address symptoms prompted by Macro changes.

  • You don't get it, words dilute

  • The criminal justice system needs purgatory

  • Life is reinforcement learning

  • Why gamergate is the most underrated moment in the formation of the alt-right and new internet culture.

  • Modi. No one gets India. Least of all, people who claim to get India.

  • Man in a matriarchal world.

  • Why is everyone in leftist video-essay-youtube suddenly trans ?

  • You don't get it, words dilute

This is like one of the cryptic notes I scribble down and then can't remember what it was supposed to mean. Then when I go back and try and flesh it out, I'm probably getting the thought subtly wrong. Words diluting indeed.

I am infamous for speaking in metaphors and getting unjustifiably annoyed when the person asks for me to 'explain it better'. It ties into the old 'blind men and the elephant' story. I HAVE to explain an elephant in metaphors as long as sight does not exist yet. You then get someone asking for a phrase to capture the animal, and I am forced to call it a 'trunk nosed rhino' in resignation. It's the 'real world concepts' version of that.

I'm interested in India effortpost.

Seconded

That's honestly the hardest one.

No one gets India

Because that "no one" includes me. But it is also the one I am most likely to finish.

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