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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.

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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Lazuli 6d ago (text post) 382 thread views

NFL Weekly Thread: Post Season + Super Bowl

Let's chat about the National Football League. This thread will be dedicated to all post-season games, including the Super Bowl. This post will be updated with results and schedules going into February (All times Eastern):

Wildcard matchups:

2025-01-11:
===========
04:30PM: Los Angeles Chargers vs. Houston Texans
08:00PM: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens

2025-01-12:
==========
01:00PM: Denver Broncos vs. Buffalo Bills, 
04:30PM: Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles
08:00PM: Washington Commanders vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2025-01-13
==========
08:00PM: Minnesota Vikings vs. Los Angeles Rams

Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Hoffmeister25 American Bukelismo Enthusiast 5d ago

MOTTE ROOTING INTEREST: @Hoffmeister25 is a Chargers fan, so root for LA.

Don’t just do it for me; do it because Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert are the most likable combo of head coach and quarterback the league has ever seen. Harbaugh is a goofball, full of dad jokes and quirky anecdotes, and his players famously love him to pieces. He also loves them back; Harbaugh’s man-crush on the humble, self-effacing, but supremely talented Herbert is incredibly wholesome. Herbert is the anti-primadonna, and I cannot wait for him to finally receive both the credit and the success he was denied by his first few years under a rudderless and inept regime. Come Saturday evening, I hope we can all say to the Texans:

YOU JUST LOST TO TO SHELDON HIGH SCHOOL FISHING CLUB PRESIDENT.

/images/1736455486576251.webp

Context

SigurdsSilverSword Hoffmeister25 1d ago

receive both the credit and the success he was denied by his first few years under a rudderless and inept regime.

Herbert haters remain undefeated!

Seriously though, he seems to be overrated by the "football nerd" class and underrated by the bar-watchers. Like he's clearly good, but he's not on the level of the real elite guys. A back half of the top 10 type guy, rather than a front half.

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!

Rules

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