site banner
UraniumDonGER  Marie Curies last wish  1yr ago (image post)   2521 thread views

Greetings Mottizens!

Unable to load image 

							
							
I come in peace, just want to see whats around here



							

						

					


					
							
							

								

				
						

						

					

					

					

						

						

						12
						

					

					
				

			

		


		
	


 

	

		

			
		

	






	

		

			

	
	

	 Bottom New Old Controversial Comments
	



		


	
		

			
		

	
		

			

				
Jump in the discussion.

				
No email address required.

				
			

		

	

	

	
	

	
		
	
		
	

	

  








	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
mottemods have the usual bias for longposting, but they want actual content in the same way that netflix wants content. Stuff that drives people here.


So interesting perspectives and being a political weirdo gets you rather far.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			 
				
					

						
					

				
			
		

	




	

	

	

	

	

	
	

	
	

	
 















	






			
			

		

		
			
				


	

		
	


	


		
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