site banner
PaperclipPerfector  10mo ago (text post)   3146 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 31, 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.

3
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I think it might ironically be an example of American individualism. Some folks still call maskwearers sheep etc, but if you wear a mask at this point, you’re obviously bucking a great deal of indirect and sometimes direct societal pressure to just take it off and rawdog the air.

Lots of Euros wore a mask when the societal signal was to wear one and took it off when the society (I’d say the government, but there are still ‘formal’masking decals in public buses and so on, nobody just gives a shit) signaled that they should be taken off. A 2023-turning-2024 masker is resisting societal pressure - not to the same degree as 2021-turning-2022 antivaxxer, but still.

The Japanese soldiers who think the war is still going.

I think this explains most of it.

Americans really want to express themselves. The N-95 on the bus is the mirror image of the "Let's Go Brandon" t-shirt.

If I remember correctly, bumper stickers aren't really a thing in Europe either.

If I remember correctly, bumper stickers aren't really a thing in Europe either.

I see them on about 1 in 500, maybe 1 in 200 or 1 in 1000 cars in Poland.

Not sure is it making it a thing or not a thing.

Rate is much higher in the US. 1 in 10 maybe?

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