site banner
PaperclipPerfector  7mo ago (text post)   2638 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 31, 2024

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.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Study 1: “Children of Homosexuals More Apt to Become Homosexual and Experience Parental Molestation: Surveys Over Three Decades”, published in Marriage and Family Review, 2017. Paywalled, but available via sci-hub.

  • Abstract consists only of throwing shade at another researcher for not acknowledging them.
  • Most of the references are either 1) their previous work or 2) said author’s non-rebuttals.
  • It doesn’t seem like they actually collected any new data since 1996?
  • Obvious issues with causation.
  • n = 17

Study 2: “Denial and Discovery of Harm for Children with Same-Sex Parents”, unpublished (?), 2016.

  • Starts with a very reassuring blast at “the secular propaganda” of “harm denial”
  • I’m sure the Catholic Church supplies ironclad evidence against—
  • nah, they just assume it “creates obstacles in the normal development of children”
  • Cites four categories:
    • Sullins found a 2.4 risk ratio for “emotional distress” among 582 children.
    • Cameron (the guy from your first study) apparently churned out a lot of studies finding exactly what he expected. Also, he and Regnerus were totally oppressed and basically martyred for the cause.
    • Regnerus and Sullins found that lesbian women abuse their children more. No sample size.
    • “Dozens” of adults have come forward saying that their lesbian parents were awful.
  • Concludes that the vibes Catholic teaching must have been correct.

Overall: Nah. To the point where I’m not actually convinced you read these before posting them.

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