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PaperclipPerfector  11hr ago (text post)   352 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for November 15, 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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There are degrees of "Ship of Theseus-ing".

  • The original version: Hundreds of pieces are replaced one by one over many years, with physical continuity above 99 percent at each replacement

  • The grandfather's-ax version: Just two or three pieces are replaced one at a time, with physical continuity of only one-half or two-thirds at each replacement

  • This Japanese version: The entire edifice is destroyed and remade all at once, with no physical continuity at all

Or the Spanish version, where decayed parts are replaced by jarringly ugly alternatives, because this is somehow more 'authentic' or 'honest'.

From the perspective of the tourist or resident, the first three options are basically the same, right? The building looks traditional and beautiful, and is built with new materials. The only way options 1 or 2 are superior to 3 would be if the old materials pass on some ineffible essence to the new materials.

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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."

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