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PaperclipPerfector  9mo ago (text post)   3631 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 30, 2023

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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What motivates you to post on this site? Anything in particular?

I got accused of projecting last night while drunk-replying (always a bad idea) and I realized that's totally right. I project constantly when I write online, and I'm okay with it. A lot of my motivation for writing is to get my ideas out there, test them against the intellectual mettle of folks I respect, and ideally making my ideas into a more cohesive shape.

I have many ideas where I haven’t found another good place to discuss them. Often, they are unrefined theories and I need outside feedback to refine them and find the flaws with them.

My best friend doesn’t have the same interests and background knowledge that I do. Sure, he will let me nerd out about signaling theory or whatever my latest intertest is, but he can’t provide the same kind of intellectual stimulation that I get here.

I also find it to be therapeutic to share ideas that the people around me ‘don’t get’. I’m getting acknowledgment that there are other people that share the same interests and think in rationalist-adjacent ways.

Also, I’d like to give a huge shout out the Wellness Wednesday threads. I really like being able to share a problem/challenge that I’m facing and get multiple perspectives on it. The multiple perspectives help me see multiple ways I can approach something. I feel like there are a lot of high-effort and helpful responses that people have just given me for free and I appreciate that. If I were talking to a therapist or close friend I would get a much narrower (and potentially more biased) perspective.

Funnily enough I got my therapist into slate star codex, and will often give him ‘homework’ of reading an article I find helps describe part of my thinking.

Good therapists are hard to find but certainly worth it imo.

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.


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