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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   3652 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 2, 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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Jonathan Harker takes ages to realize that his host, an extremely obvious vampire, is in fact a vampire.

Keanu Reeves’ portrayal of Harker somehow makes this more believable in the 1992 movie.

At the same time, Reeves’ infamous accent and stilted line delivery in this movie can serve as a character-building exercise for a viewer not to tap out due to cringe.

It can be oddly inspiring though, if you’re a young person combating imposter-syndrome. If Reeves can make it through filming and production as a late 19th century Englishman, surely you can make it through [whatever].

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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."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


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