site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   4449 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 19, 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.

4
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Don't apologize--I was trying to be clever, which is always a hit-or-miss endeavor.

Anyway, my question is: how do you count what percentage of women in, say, America have the sort of relationship you describe? How does OP? Because both of you describe things that do happen, but how often they happen is very, very difficult to count. The only place I can even think to look is the GSS, and I can't find any questions on there that really seem germane.

Part of me thinks Skookum's hypothesis (which he freely admits he only has 5% confidence in it being true) should simply be disregarded out of hand: "what can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence". This discussion has been going on for weeks and no one has yet presented any real evidence for the claim that women are more miserable in relationships with men who are caring but unattractive and socially awkward than women in relationships with men who are physically abusive. The best someone could come up with a study which purported to demonstrate that the introduction of no-fault divorce in the US precipitated a massive drop in the female suicide rate, but that seems tangentially related at best - it could just as easily be explained by women no longer being forced to stay wedded to men who beat them, drink too much, gamble all the time, rape their children etc.

When I see some very persuasive evidence that women in relationships with socially awkward men are more miserable than women in relationships with men who beat them, then and only then will I entertain the possibility that the hypothesis is true. Until then I am taking it about as seriously as astrology or crystal healing.

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