site banner
PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   4774 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 7, 2024

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.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I think it depends mostly on where you move. Britain (especially London) is a very easy place to move to from the US, same language, many cultural similarities, huge numbers of Americans in London. I already knew people here before I arrived, which was nice and helped with making friends.

The biggest challenge is loneliness at the start, for sure. Rewards? It’s nice to have a sense of distance. If bad stuff happens, it’s not ‘your’ country, you can detach, if it is your country you feel more anguish. What surprised me? People quite like Americans here, I had expected a pretty cold reception but arrived at the end of the Obama years (which Trump hasn’t much affected) following the Bush-era nadir of the reputation of Americans in Western Europe.

Other stuff I’ve noticed? More attractive men, on average (and less attractive women, particularly outside London). People take life less seriously here, are less ‘sweaty’, which I like. You realize that the ultra-ambitious grindset hustle mindset stuff is common only in the US, elsewhere in the West it’s weird and considered cringe. People work hard, but they don’t think it’s because they’re tough, they just think it’s their job. The US is richer as a result, but at what cost?

Biggest gain?

Like triple the vacation time. I have almost 30 days + public holidays, everyone takes all of it, everyone goes away for 2+ weeks in the summer. If it’s a nice day and work’s not too intense people leave at 4 and get a drink in the sunshine at the pub. I would find it tough to return to NYC working culture now, having to plan cover for vacations 6 months in advance and explain to my boss why I needed 8 days at once lmao.

Thanks! It's kind of interesting that men are more attractive while women are less attractive. I guess I would've guessed that both would go up or down together, but apparently I would have guessed wrong.

Thanks! It's kind of interesting that men are more attractive while women are less attractive.

Speaking as a straight guy, I don't agree that women in the US are more attractive than in the UK. I think straight people (which I assume 2rafa is) often have a slightly distorted view of what the opposite sex actually finds attractive, which is why e.g the female-dominated fashion industry keeps hiring super-thin models, and why so many men try and get as muscular as possible.

The fashion industry doesn’t actually care whether men find their models attractive. Men aren’t making the buying decision.

I think, knowing a few seamstresses, that the real reason for ultra-thin models is that they’re easy to tailor for.

That's fair, but I don't think it changes my argument that most women still probably over-estimate how thin the body types that men find most attractive are. What's probably more accurate to say when it comes to the appearance of fashion models is that they're one of the causes rather than an effect of these distorted perceptions.

What is this place?

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.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats