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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.

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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.

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Lazuli 1d ago (text post) 128 thread views

NFL Weekly Thread: Week 17

Let's chat about the National Football League. This week's schedule (all times Eastern):

Wed 2024-12-25 1:00PM Kansas City Chiefs @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Wed 2024-12-25 4:30PM Baltimore Ravens @ Houston Texans
Thu 2024-12-26 8:15PM Seattle Seahawks @ Chicago Bears
Sun 2024-12-29 1:00PM Atlanta Falcons @ Washington Commanders
Sun 2024-12-29 1:00PM Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sun 2024-12-29 1:00PM Indianapolis Colts @ New York Giants
Sun 2024-12-29 1:00PM Arizona Cardinals @ Los Angeles Rams
Sun 2024-12-29 1:00PM Denver Broncos @ Cincinnati Bengals
Sun 2024-12-29 1:00PM Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings
Sun 2024-12-29 1:00PM New York Jets @ Buffalo Bills
Sun 2024-12-29 1:00PM Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Sun 2024-12-29 1:00PM Las Vegas Raiders @ New Orleans Saints
Sun 2024-12-29 1:00PM Los Angeles Chargers @ New England Patriots
Sun 2024-12-29 4:25PM Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles
Sun 2024-12-29 8:20PM Miami Dolphins @ Cleveland Browns
Mon 2024-12-30 8:15PM Detroit Lions @ San Francisco 49ers

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Lazuli 1d ago

Jayden Daniels, the Washington Commanders' QB, is a lock for Rookie of the Year after that amazing performance on Sunday to upset the Eagles.

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Context

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!

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