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.
- 158
- 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 -
By the mid-2000s, I had at least one friend with a Disney cultist family. Especially the mother. Their whole dynamic was really weird in hindsight, and it’s hard not to see the distilled consumerism as part and parcel.
Point is, I suspect there were rabid Disney moms in the decades before that.
Since I moved to Texas, I’ve been back to Disney exactly twice, both times for band events. It was alright. That’s with a per diem allowance and no desire for merch. I haven’t gone since I was paying my own way; if I’d been spending the kind of money it takes to get a family or even a couple through that gauntlet, I’d have hoped for a lot more magic.
(Except for expedition Everest, which is a great roller coaster and environment at any age. Fight me.)
How much of that is down to the park, and how much on my own age? Kids definitely get something very different out of it than their parents. The money, of course, but also the situational awareness and the suspension of disbelief. To be a Disney mom, you’ve got to stay under.
For more on the philosophy of Disney as a whole-family park, I recommend Defunctland’s video on a certain non-Disney dark ride. No, seriously. The philosophy behind Dreamworld Australia, discussed in the first few minutes of the video, perfectly captures how a Disney is supposed to work. And the rest of the video explains how it gets distorted beyond imagining.
When the narrator started talking about the Wiggles I had to check the Wikipedia to make sure I wasn't watching a mockumentary. Turns out, Australia is stranger than I could've imagined.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link