site banner
PaperclipPerfector  25d ago (text post)   2849 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 27, 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.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

So, what are you reading?

Still on Future Shock and Galactic Patrol. Rereading Bernays’ Crystallizing Public Opinion. Bernays has been on my mind often while watching the US election unfold. I think he would have disapproved of the Harris campaign's choices.

Howard Marks' books. He's not as funny as Lynch, but he's pretty good too.

I read The Andromeda Strain. It was somewhat interesting but I definitely wouldn't recommend it; the plot and character development are almost nonexistent.

Now catching up on 12 Miles Below which is just such a fun story.

Andromeda Strain is pretty boring. Crichton was just starting to figure out how to write novels with that one.

Haven't read Andromeda but completely agree on 12 Miles Below. I read the first one and ended up devouring the entire series several months back and I'm hoping there's more soon!

I having been chewing my way through William Hope Hodgson's The Night Land. It is incredibly repetitive and an excellent soporific. Given to a vicious editor I expect 2/3rds of it would end up on the cutting room floor, and be better for it. Whilst incredibly boring it is refreshing to read something so sincere and unselfconscious.

In my quest through Plato I've gotten through the Euthypro, the Apology, the Crito, and I'm now on the Phaedo. Good hospital bedside reading.

On audio I just finished Moby Dick. A truly universal work, it feels like an allegory for the presidential election 175 years early. I've now started lonesome dove, which I recall someone here recommending, and Lord in heaven is it amazing. After reading a lot of non fiction and literary fiction, lonesome dove is like a firehose of content. Just action on action on allegory on allegory on setpiece on setpiece. The book just GOES. I'm totally digging it.

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