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ZorbaTHut  2yr ago (text post)   Edited 2yr ago   7825 thread views

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Did anyone else get cold sweats, shivering and nausea since this morning? Just me?

Bugs under the skin and constipated opinions here.

What, do you think we all got a visit from the alphabet firms?

I decided to hold off on joining until 2 or 3 kinks were worked out, having been annoyed by new sites in the past that necessarily deal with growing pains at launch.

Also, I consume enough nicotine, caffeine and alcohol that you'd have to make me quit all 3 at once for me to deal with withdrawal symptoms from other stuff.

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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