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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Why are you called The Motte?
A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently,
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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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Notes -
No, there's a bound on how minutely a mentor can influence your actions. Scott's decision to take it all the way to the absurd, to have it dictating muscle contractions and phonemes to you, was an exercise in examining just how much influence we can take on before we do lose our agency. It's contemplating the line between mentee and thrall, where most would be distressed at the prospect of becoming a thrall if sufficiently warned at the beginning.
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