Category: Echo chambers

…embracing our fallibility not only lessens our likelihood of erring , but also helps us think more creatively , treat each other more thoughtfully , and construct freer and fairer societies .

Schulz, Kathryn. Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error (p. 18). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

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Previous posts:

1. Echo Chambers    
2. Echo Chambers REALLY?
3. Echo Chambers :The Importance of Being Wrong
4. To err is human; to admit it, superhuman

This is my 5th post on the subject of echo chambers. If you haven’t read the previous posts or just don’t want to do so, below is a brief summary that will help get you to the subject of this post.

• Echo chambers are a natural consequence of human interaction and are ubiquitous in our society. They have potential for good or ill. Social media has unleashed the malevolent potential of echo chambers which bears much responsibility for our divided, polarized culture.
• It is too simplistic to assign echo chambers sole responsibility  for the deep division in our country. To do so is akin to assigning parents sole responsibility for the their children’s outcome. Echo chambers are incubators for our development as human beings, for good or ill.
• Our desire for rightness leads us to echo chambers  where our “rightness” is amplified and error is filtered out. Like a butterfly from a cocoon, we emerge in the beauty of our rightness, confirmed in our infallibility.
• The most significant human trait that sustains and encourages the proliferation of and participation in harmful echo chambers is our unwillingness to entertain the possibility that we may be wrong. Without awareness and acceptance of our human fallibility, we will be vulnerable to the ill effects of echo chambers.
• The challenge is how do we cultivate a healthy understanding and acceptance of our “wrongness”?

First, some clarification. These posts are not written to  initiate/encourage a movement against echo chambers. My motivation for writing grows out of personal participation in my own echo chambers and significant life experiences that revealed my fallibility. Through no effort of my own, I have come to understand the impact and importance of echo chambers in my life. If is my purpose to present each reader with an opportunity for reflection and introspection. This is personal not corporate or political. To use a biblical metaphor,  I hope that individuals will become leaven.

I believe it can be helpful to use the concept of natural frequency to understand the dynamics of echo chambers and how acceptance of our fallibility can reduce, perhaps eliminate, the negative/destructive aspects of echo chambers.

Natural frequency is the frequency at which a system tends to oscillate in the absence of any driving or damping force.¹

With the understanding that I am not a physicist, let me propose an analogy of natural frequency to the physics of echo chambers.

Supposing the natural frequency of the echo chamber in which we reside is ƒ [rightness]. An external application of ƒ[rightness] will cause the echo chamber to oscillate and achieve resonance i.e. resonate with us. In simple terms, “they are playing our tune” or  “on my wave length”.

So what’s the problem? The application of ƒ[rightness]  at increasing amplitude can grow enough to, as in case of a glass, shatter the object. Perhaps my analogy breaks down with destruction, but I think, at a minimum,  it supports Nicholas Kristof’s  assertion: Whatever our politics [et al], inhabiting a bubble makes us more shrill.  

I do believe that if we are exposed to increasingly stronger reinforcement of our rightness, in the absence of any driving or dampening force, it will result in unhealthy (destructive) consequences. For the system (echo chamber) to achieve resonance and allow us to reside there healthily , there must be driving or dampening forces to protect the system.

It is my premise that awareness and acceptance of our human fallibility fills that requirement. I would also suggest that a natural frequency analogy supports the idea that individuals acting as leaven can be a force that prevents destructive outcomes.

Hopefully, this discussion has help to explain the importance of awareness and acceptance of our human fallibility. Unfortunately, in the face of our unrelenting desire to be right,  the question of how to we achieve awareness and acceptance of our human fallibility remains. Maybe next time?

This is my 7th post on the subject of echo chambers. If you have not read the previous posts, I encourage you to do so. Clicking on echo chambers on the menu above will take you to the previous posts.

This post and the previous posts, have, hopefully, provided better understand of echo chambers and their influence on our society and, more specifically, our personal lives. This post is the next step toward addressing “how” questions,  a summary of my conclusions regarding echo chambers may be in order. If you have not read the previous posts. CLICK HERE to read a brief summary.

It is not my purpose, in writing these posts, to launch a movement to eliminate echo chambers. I do hope that those who read these posts will gain an awareness of echo chambers and their impact on our society. More importantly, I want readers to understand the personal implications of residing in an echo chamber. 

Do not think this is about Republican or Democrat, et al. It is not about giving up what we believe to be right. It is not about proving the other side wrong.
Relative to the negative outcomes of an echo chamber, it is ultimately irrelevant whether we are right or wrong about our cause.
Continual, unfiltered exposure to reinforcement of our rightness, will, ironically, result in unhealthy outcomes that can result in destructive consequences.  It is revealing to read comments on controversial subjects that appear in social media. There is no limit  as to how despicable comments can be. Living constantly in an echo chamber can transform us in ways that are inexplicable. The “safety” of an echo chamber is a darkness that shields us from face to face interaction and allows us to escape responsibility and grants permission  for words and conduct that we would never consider otherwise.
Consider two comments posted recently on Linkedin:

Bull@#$% comments from trolls or morons are completely useless and waist of my time to read. I am not neatral in what i am.I stand without doubt a hardcore constitutional republican ,a Master automotive technician, and above all a christian. So call me what you want i am confident in my beliefs, ideas and religion.What the naysayers have to say has ZERO EFFECT ON ME and makes no difference to anyone but the one calling names.

… we should all support each other…men ,women and others.we are all gods children.lets stop dividing ourselves into categories.men ,women, black ,white straight ,gay.lets just be one people with the same mission.being good citizens of our wonderful country.I agree that women should not put down other women nor should any group denounce other groups just to self promote or to attack others you dont agree with.Lets debate and find common ground and work together for the greater good for all.

The first comment was, obviously, in response to a subject the commenter did not agree with. The second comment came in response to an idea the commenter agreed with. The most revealing thing about these two comments is that the author of both was the same person.

I wonder which one he would say most represents who he is?