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PaperclipPerfector  4mo ago (text post)   2917 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 26, 2024

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.

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But where do you find friends?

Anywhere and everywhere. If you have an excuse to talk with someone its a potential avenue of friendship.

College, work, rec sports, neighbors, friends of friends, non-profit work, etc.

Some cheat codes:

  1. Try and just be friends with at least one super social person, and then piggyback off their many friendships. I'm currently lucky to have a set of super social next door neighbors. We've met quite a few other people through them.
  2. Volunteer to help an organization's recruitment. Its painful if you are an introvert. But it gives you an active excuse to be friendly and approach people. As a guy this matters, because it removes some creep factor.
  3. Rec sports are great, especially team ones. Nothing builds to easy social interactions faster than some physical competition or team work with others.

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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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