site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   2554 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for June 9, 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.

3
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I like my local pileated woodpecker. Comes to the feeder and yells.

Recently, I saw a few waxwings. Never seen them before in person, so that was cool.

Bird I know we have locally, but I don't see as much of as I'd like: plover types (killdeer, etc).

Bird we don't have locally that I'd like to see: woodcock.

A good, thorough answer!

I happened to see a pileated or maybe downy woodpecker in the only nearby conifers. Very neat.

Waxwings are also excellent. I can only second your desire to see the stilt-type birds, which I find incredibly charming.

You might have seen a Hairy Woodpecker. They're about halfway between Downys and Pileateds in size, but look exactly like Downys in all other aspects.

Woodpeckers in general are just nice. We've also got some red-bellieds, and a Northern Flicker or two, which I believe are adjacent to woodpeckers, but ours just seem to enjoy throwing mulch halfway across the yard as a daily activity.

We used to see lots of hairy woodpeckers in my area, but the council cut down the woods, so now we just see lots of hairy peckers.

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