The Echo Chamber

It used to be just the “Yes” men, but now it’s pretty much any media channel. 

If you want to, you can find and plug into the echo chamber from any number of outlets. The digital age has supercharged it. Target audiences plus algorithms working together to keep you captured. 

But the echo chamber is a trap. Opinions get reinforced. New information is irrelevant. Doubts get silenced. Disagreements feel like betrayals. 

Back in the “Yes” men days, the smart thing to do was to bring in a skeptic. Someone who asks the hard questions and says, “Are you sure?” and “What about…”

Creative tension and friction were the tools.

As it turns out, those are still the tools. You don’t have to abandon your beliefs, but you can use these tools to test them. To morph them when appropriate. To stretch your mind. Maybe to change it.

Sometimes, the most important sound is the one that doesn’t echo back.