By the by, this guy is rapidly approaching mid-10s Scott-tier for me. Scratches almost the same itch. Almost every time he releases a podcast essay, I end up re-listening a few times, and it lingers in my mind for weeks. (The interview podcasts are less interesting.) I recommend "The Frontier Was Always Closed (To you)", "How the Taliban Won", and his review of Selective Breeding and the Birth of Philosophy.
sarker
Where are the Snowdens of yesteryear?
erwgv3g34 3mo ago
I read the first one and it's really just the usual paranoid, millenarian boo-outgroup screed I've seen from rightists about a million times now. A far cry from early Scott.
the enemy has transmogrified from self-dealing hustlers & zealots into a cabal of literal blood-drinking pedophile satanists in command of the entire Western order
As the divide becomes more dangerous, They will be more insistent to know which side you’re on, & institutions with the power to reveal that knowledge will lose the pretense of impartiality.
You know what is coming for this culture. It’s going to be destroyed - & long before it is destroyed, it’s going to become an unbearable hell. Maybe you were hoping to time your exit, make a little more money, watch a little more Netflix, eat a little more plastic meat - but maybe your plan would have come too late. If God calls you out of Babylon ahead of schedule, you don’t ask questions & you don’t look back.
I think the first paragraph you cite makes a lot more sense together with the second:
But you still call them names & waggle your dick at them online, out of habit. You definitely don’t treat them like they’re possessed of infinite supernatural malice, & have the power to publicize everything you’ve ever watched & said & done on the internet.
The other two paragraphs are definitely overly paranoid, especially the last, but surely some level of paranoia is warranted at this point.
I do find the other two essays much higher quality than that one.
sarker
Where are the Snowdens of yesteryear?
Tenaz 3mo ago
Adding that paragraph just makes it more paranoid and boo outgroup, especially since he takes the "infinite supernatural malice" ball and runs with it.
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.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
By the by, this guy is rapidly approaching mid-10s Scott-tier for me. Scratches almost the same itch. Almost every time he releases a podcast essay, I end up re-listening a few times, and it lingers in my mind for weeks. (The interview podcasts are less interesting.) I recommend "The Frontier Was Always Closed (To you)", "How the Taliban Won", and his review of Selective Breeding and the Birth of Philosophy.
It's a shame he's not anywhere near as prolific.
Does he have written things?
He has a blog called Bennett's Phylactery. I really liked "You’re Going to Be Doxxed", "Evils & Designs", and "Breeding Our Way Out".
I read the first one and it's really just the usual paranoid, millenarian boo-outgroup screed I've seen from rightists about a million times now. A far cry from early Scott.
Maybe the others are better.
I think the first paragraph you cite makes a lot more sense together with the second:
The other two paragraphs are definitely overly paranoid, especially the last, but surely some level of paranoia is warranted at this point.
I do find the other two essays much higher quality than that one.
Adding that paragraph just makes it more paranoid and boo outgroup, especially since he takes the "infinite supernatural malice" ball and runs with it.
I don't know what to say except that it doesn't read that way to me.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link