site banner
naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   4031 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for February 10, 2023

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.

5
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Does it matter if they are my ancestors, or is the weight of time sufficient? I'm sure bushmen and sentinelese have long-running traditions in the style of the old semites, but I would not think they contain superior knowledge to me and my internet connection. As to my ancestors, they have been mixing wool and linen for 100 generations, and they've been fine. Is this a case of "my dad's dad's dad's dad's.... could beat up your dad's dad's dad's dad's..." . If these last few millenia were a thorough scientific experiment on appropriate clothing alloys, shouldn't the verdict be in by now?

I'm sure bushmen and sentinelese have long-running traditions in the style of the old semites, but I would not think they contain superior knowledge to me and my internet connection

Do you think you could survive in the African bush, the Australian outback, or the Sentinel islands for any extended period of time, if you were dropped off there and given an internet-connected smartphone (and weren't allowed to call an uber nor order supplies)? Is that knowledge useful to you, merely by having access to it?

That's what I'm getting at. Survival traits tend to be optimized for the environment in which they arise, and may protect against risks that you don't even perceive because they only arise if you fail to adhere to the processes that ward them off.

If, due to some major disturbance of global civilized society, we were to revert to a pre-industrial standards of living, I daresay you would find that your superior knowledge wouldn't be much use in ensuring your survival in this new environment.

Versus people who have a longstanding culture that has survived for eons might be able to just fall back on well-known behaviors that were inculcated in them and are thus more-or-less automatic and nigh-instinctual. See: the Amish.

Or, for another analogy, consider that there exist diseases which were frozen in Artic permafrost and contemporary humans might be susceiptible to. Whereas humans whose immune systems were adapted to these diseases might not be threatened at all, those without the resistance might die simply because they've never encountered this particular threat.

Whether you think our modern medical and scientific edifice is up to the task of shoring up this weakness may have to do with your take on how they responded to Covid19.

The loss of a cultural 'immune response' might, likewise, expose a society to hazards that it has long forgotten.

If these last few millenia were a thorough scientific experiment on appropriate clothing alloys, shouldn't the verdict be in by now?

Probably! But in some cases, if the tradition is relatively cheap to adhere to, might be acceptable to stay 'on the safe side' and just keep following it since it costs little to do so, and may be providing a large benefit.

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