DuplexFields
Ask me how the FairTax proposal works. All four Political Compass quadrants should love it.
Minotaur 2yr ago
A manifesto is about some perceived ill in the world and a proposed answer or solution. 200+ page deep explorations are useful for far more than manifestos.
But the most important things about books versus other formats is that they end, and they aren’t changed after publication. That means that, unlike this very reply, they are certain to be the same as when you first read them, and unless you get a later edition or a sequel, they contain exactly the amount the author and publisher agreed to publish.
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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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Notes -
The format of media influences its form.
Books encourage 200+ pages of material with a common theme. That is the ideal format for deep exploration of an idea.
Blogs, articles, etc are optimized for their ability to draw in drive-by readers. At best they don't reward depth, at worst they punish it.
We call these manifestos, and blogs are fine for them. I'm sure you can even find plenty -- though you probably don't want to read them.
A manifesto is about some perceived ill in the world and a proposed answer or solution. 200+ page deep explorations are useful for far more than manifestos.
But the most important things about books versus other formats is that they end, and they aren’t changed after publication. That means that, unlike this very reply, they are certain to be the same as when you first read them, and unless you get a later edition or a sequel, they contain exactly the amount the author and publisher agreed to publish.
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