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.
- 99
- 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 would buy your Indian cookbook in a second. Hell, I'd appreciate any blogging or instagramming you do on the topic.
I'll probably start doing it properly once I move to my new place. My new roomates are also more camera savvy, so I might get their help to setup a mini studio.
My 2023 food targets are:
Complete experimentation on tres leches shahi tukda. I am almost there with this one. When complete it will be hand crafted to be my favorite dessert. (Some places already do a similar dish....but all the variants i have seen so far are kinda lazy)
Start experimentation on the grand veg biryani project. The goal is to throw every trick in book at creating something worthy lf the veg biryani moniker. I am presently playing with ideas around trumoet mushrooms, persian tadik, hainanese chicken rice & paella. But my main goal here is to finish identifying a worthy protein replacement.
Find a bombil / snakefish equivalent in western markets. Bombil is a very unique fish & the pride of my family, but impossible to source in the US. I want to find the closest fish replacement.
Make khawa poli & kaladi cheese. Both are some of my favorite hidden gems from back home. Impossible to find outside a few villages. Will be very hard to find the right recipe. Thankfully I'll know when its right, because the flavors are deeply embedded in me.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link