site banner
PaperclipPerfector  9mo ago (text post)   2765 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for July 28, 2023

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.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I'm looking for help tracking down an old comedy sketch, possibly produced by Monty Python. Yesterday my dad described a comedy sketch he'd seen years ago which went something like this.

A man named Smith who works for MI5 is called into his supervisor's office. His supervisor is suspicious that there may be a mole in the department, and questions Smith aggressively to ascertain what he knows.

Supervisor: It's come to our attention that the Russians have recently developed a technique more insidious than any we've heard of to date. It's called "lying". Essentially, it's when you make an assertion which is factually untrue.

Smith: What?!

Supervisor: Yes. I'm sure you can appreciate the range of potential applications of this technique in international espionage and the threat it might pose to the West.

The sketch goes on like that for awhile. Ring any bells?

Sounds like it could be from one of the "Control and Tony" sketches on "A Bit of Fry and Laurie"; this one in particular.

I think we have a winner! Thanks for the help.

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