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PaperclipPerfector  7mo ago (text post)   3223 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 10, 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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Has anyone here ever been terrible at remembering names and then solved that problem? I'm thinking of just writing every new acquaintance's name into a notebook or something.

I haven't solved that problem, but one mitigation strategy: I never ever say "Nice to meet you" I say "Good to see you" or "great to see you out here" or "thanks for coming out." Even if I think it's the first time I'm meeting the person.

The penalty for saying good to see you to someone you're meeting the first time is small, the penalty for saying nice to meet you the second time you see someone is huge.

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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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