site banner
naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3150 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for February 24, 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.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I'm started reading Eliezer Yudowsky's glowfic Planecrash about a person from a hyper-rationalist world getting transported to the Pathfinder world, and an evil magic dictatorship scrambles to deceive him as they try to get him to reveal his advanced science. It's similar to Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, except I'd say it contains more of the worst parts(long lessons about science that are overly complicated, long lessons about science that are just incorrect, often arrogantly rants about stuff Eliezer thinks people do wrong). It also has overly detailed sex stuff that's especially uncomfortable to read knowing how much the MC is a self-insert. But overall I still really enjoy it, because Eliezer writes evil schemes and counter-schemes better than any other author I've read, and also is really funny.

It also has overly detailed sex stuff that's especially uncomfortable to read knowing how much the MC is a self-insert.

Let me guess, some vanilla dom type BS ?

Let me guess, some vanilla dom type BS ?

Yes

Then the old OKCupid profile photos going around cca 2008(?) were correct and also one more datapoint for: sexuality doesn't really change much in adulthood.

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