site banner
PaperclipPerfector  27d ago (text post)   2397 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 23, 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.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

For the current administration's actions -- I'm not sure there is a news source that could keep you genuinely informed without just being outrage one way or the other. Things are moving too quickly for anything other than surface-level takes. The Trump administration seems to be doing the policy version of a gish gallop, where there's not enough time for anyone to form an opinion about any policy before the next big one drops. How people feel about that will depend on their politics, but it's certainly a strategy that's working in terms of drowning out opposition.

My response has been to disengage from political news. I get secondhand reports from friends and family on whatever drama's happening on Twitter and whatever the headlines are saying, but I don't read political news at this point. I used to always keep abreast of what was going on and even enjoyed talking about current events with people, but it's been so chaotic and so impossible to understand that I'm just numb to politics.

It's not what you asked, but my honest advice would be that there's no way to be more informed without becoming extremely online or devoting your life to exploring executive actions. The feeling you have is real, and it's shared by just about everyone.

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