site banner
PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   2360 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 9, 2025

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.

and ‘the English language’ are not instincts

Yes, you're correct, though proclivity toward English is almost certainly there in the genes. Which I mention because I think it's so cool and a window into so much else.

proclivity toward English is almost certainly there in the genes.

Why is this almost certain?

Inasmuch as 'being good with a given language' is under selection pressure, populations will evolve to be better at that language.

Check this out. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-024-00229-7

To summarize, this study revealed the genetic basis of Chinese and English abilities in a group of Chinese bilingual children.

There's more research on this sort of thing but it's difficult to find and often gets disappeared.

The problem is that English today isn't the same as "English" circa AD 1000, so it's not clear to me why there would be a long lasting coherent selection pressure. In fact, English today is a result of changes made to the language by its speakers over the past thousand years, so it's really not clear which way causality even runs.

I'd be much more interested in a survey of English ability of third generation Chinese immigrants in the US rather than bilingual kids in a bilingual country. I strongly suspect that the effect will be small or even in the other direction due to Asian IQ.

The problem is that English today isn't the same as "English" circa AD 1000, so it's not clear to me why there would be a long lasting coherent selection pressure.

Selection doesn't require a thousand years. It happens in each generation. And particularly with industrialism and a shift to an information economy, it's going hard. Besides which, English and Chinese are a lot more like their thousand year old selves than they are like each other. So, sure, call the matter directional.

In fact, English today is a result of changes made to the language by its speakers over the past thousand years, so it's really not clear which way causality even runs.

Statements like this freak me out. Of course it's both! You might like this: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0610848104

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