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.
- 69
- 2
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
- Courtesy
- Content
- Engagement
- When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
- Proactively provide evidence in proportion to how partisan and inflammatory your claim might be.
- Accept temporary bans as a time-out, and don't attempt to rejoin the conversation until it's lifted.
- Don't attempt to build consensus or enforce ideological conformity.
- Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
- The Wildcard Rule
- The Metarule
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
I think it's interesting that the UK still celebrates burning Catholics at the stake once a year. Guy Fawkes Night is pretty fun actually, and I like the ritual of it - starting with the bonfire in the late afternoon/early evening as it's getting dark, watching the effigy burn, warming up by the fire, then watching the fireworks. I'm always surprised at just how warm it is, even when it's cold out, near the fire. I guess that sounds stupid, but it still feels a little like magic. That it takes place during what is probably the UK's rainiest, most depressing month (yes, even over January) in terms of weather is also nice, and it seems to be the main holiday (other than New Year's Eve) where people throw big parties, like the 4th of July in the US.
It isn't a public holiday though, which is a shame. Instead, the UK stacks up almost all its public holidays between April and May (two for Easter, two in May), with one extra one in late August. Thanksgiving is really situated perfectly as a holiday IMHO, late November demands it.
I've been considering attempting to start a ritual centered around burning the effigy of the head of the EC to remind ourselves of the liberties and independence we foolishly gave away in our swinish interested in material well-being so now we are subjects to dictates from an idiotic, unaccountable bureaucratic shoggoth festering in Brussels.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link