site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   2857 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for July 14, 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.

The gentle strains of a Soviet anthem fade in...

I agree that the photography is particularly ghoulish. Tabloids probably have a vested interest in making their subjects look eldritch, so maybe they use a different flash? RFK Jr. looks like he was built out of Legos no matter who is photographing, though. Curious.

Too much juice too late in life makes your head look weird.

Come to think of it, why is that? The skull is pretty much the skull once you hit your twenties; and there isn't much meat on the bone there. I wonder what mechanism works to make the shape differnet.

I have no particular insight on RFK Jr., but If by “juice” you mean testosterone and other androgenic compounds, it’s not that.

The “shit that makes your fucking head grow” is HGH, which can stimulate bone formation and accumulation in adults. This causes one’s head, face, hands and feet to grow (hence Bonds’ hat size inching larger while he was in the MLB) and possibly develop a mild version of the acromegalic Andre the Giant look.

My suspicion is that they use a worse flash than they would at a photoshoot so that the event is bearable for attendees. But that results in the HDTV era soap opera look.

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