Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.
- 135
- 4
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
- Courtesy
- Content
- Engagement
- When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
- Proactively provide evidence in proportion to how partisan and inflammatory your claim might be.
- Accept temporary bans as a time-out, and don't attempt to rejoin the conversation until it's lifted.
- Don't attempt to build consensus or enforce ideological conformity.
- Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
- The Wildcard Rule
- The Metarule
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
I used to have a Fossil that my wife bought me which was just about perfect for my taste. I like to wear a watch when I dress up, but I want something elegant and understated - most watches I see are way too flashy for me to ever consider wearing. The watch my wife got me was great, though. Looked a fair bit like the Timex that you linked, except the border around the watch face was gold colored. Sadly, it broke and Fossil wasn't able to fix it as they didn't have parts for it any more. Right now I don't have a watch.
One thing I'd be interested in is your thoughts on decent pocket watches. I know some people think they are a bad choice in this day and age, but I have had one and enjoyed wearing it with my suit on occasion. I don't know where I'd get a nice pocket watch, though.
Also, thank you for the excellent dunk on Invicta. I will legit never understand why anyone has ever bought one of those ugly-ass watches. Even men with a small penis should have better taste than that.
I think they're super cool, but I've always been more of a wristwatch guy. I inherited a nice gold one from a cousin, which I pull out every now and then. I'd love to see more companies put out "functional" tool oriented pocket watches. When I was a boy scout I had a Fossil branded clip on watch/compass on a Carabiner that I'd put on my beltloop for hikes. I'd love to see a kind of pocket watch/smartwatch combo, something in aluminum with a setup like the Master of G series sensors for altitude and direction and barometeric pressure and tide graphs and stuff. Or even a small smart pocketwatch that is designed to give me basic notifications and functionalities while leaving my phablet in my briefcase or something like that. I think it's an ignored format.
It matches the aesthetic of the fake-Raptor grill on their mall-crawler.
More options
Context Copy link
You can find them online but I wouldn't know what to look for there. I think your best bet is to go to your local watchmaker. Mine has dozens lying around.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link