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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   4272 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 14, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Should I text back at like 9PM to reschedule and then add something cheeky like “you owe me the entire Stairway to Heaven solo now btw”?

This would put my back up, as a woman. If she cancelled because she doesn't want to go out with you, then nothing you say matters. If she was genuinely busy and does want to go again, the word "owe" is going to strike a sour note.

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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."

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