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PaperclipPerfector  2mo ago (text post)   3105 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for February 16, 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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To what extent do you conform to cultural or ethnic stereotypes of your people?

Extremely disagreeable? Check. Purveyor of gastronomy? Check. Never ever tip? Check. Outlandish philosophy for its own sake? Check. Always complaining about the government? Check. Art and literature snob? Check. Paranoid about debt? Check.

All I'm really missing is loose sexual mores, a penchant for strikes and an outrageous accent.

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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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