Today’s guest post is from long-time commenter Happy Hubby.
A few years ago I had the pleasure of being given an informal tour in Eyring Science building at BYU in Provo. Even though I studied business in college elsewhere, I have always been quite a nerd at heart. I was eating up the tour and asking tons of questions while my wife politely smiled and said an occasional “hmm” while nodding her head in an attempt to look interested. I remember 3 really cool things I was able to see. Actually “hear” would be a better word as they all dealt with sound. One was a pair parabolic sound mirrors in the lobby (as seen in many science museums). {picture of such mirrors}
I was just at BYU and was able to take a picture of this. Not sure about the use of this. In fact where in the heck do all the W&T authors get all the pictures they use? They are often very good, but I assume these are not copyrighted images. I know to make this more interesting I need a few more pictures. Here is the picture from BYU.
The other two were sound chambers. One was an anechoic (“anti-echo” for us lay people) chamber while the other was a reverberation chamber.
In the lobby of the building I was able to converse in a normal voice level with one of my kids that was quite a distance away. I just faced into one of the parabolic sound mirrors while my kid was some distance away in front of the opposite mirror. It is surprising how the focused sound waves can clearly make it across a somewhat long distance and still be heard – even when other noise was coming from many locations. After we played with that a few minutes, we got to go to the good stuff.
First we went to the anechoic chamber. This is one of those rooms that have funky looking foam spikes along all the walls. This room went way beyond what you might have in music recording studios as it even had a “floor” that was an open wire mesh. After we went in, the door was closed. My family could still talk to each other, but it was amazing how muffled it sounded and how we had to speak loud just to be heard. You could clap your hands and it didn’t seem to make nearly the noise it normally would. After only about a minute it started really being rather bothersome and I quickly found it increasingly irritating. I had heard of sensory deprivation could even be used as torture and I understood that a bit more even after only 2 minutes. This experience made me less interested in floating in a sensory deprivation tank – especially when I read that many people start hallucinating in them.[1] We then moved on to the reverberation chamber. This was a square room with very flat/smooth walls. I was told that the room sat isolated from the building on huge rubber supports. This was so that things like a truck driving down a near street wouldn’t transmit vibrations into the room. You could clap in this room and it was loud and the echo would just go on and on surprisingly long. The tour guide said that quite a bit of the sound was being absorbed by us being in the room. The really interesting thing that the guide showed us a neat way that sound waves bounced around the room. They had a sub-woofer in the corner and a sound wave generator hooked up where they could create specific frequencies. Certain frequencies would create an effect where in one spot in the room you wouldn’t hear much of anything (the waves at opposite phases bouncing off the walls canceled each other out), but then you move just a foot or so over and you could hear the sound quite loudly (the waves bouncing off the walls were in the same phase and would amplify each other). At certain low frequencies (think low bass notes) you could stand in one spot and not hear much, but by moving about 2 feet over you felt like you were between 2 low-riders both trying to show their car stereos pumped out more bass.
So many of you might be thinking, is Wheat and Tares turning into a nerdy science blog? Well no. These curious sound conditions made me think of some parallels.
The first is how there have been a few times in my life that someone else was really of the same mind and we could communicate with such ease. It reminded me of the parabolic sound mirrors. When having those conversations the conversation was fast paced and fully understood – even though there were conversations going on around us. We were both so focused we could easily ignore all those around us.
But I find even more interesting parallels when I start thinking about the 2 sound chambers. I found that I really didn’t like being deprived of sound. I think this parallels how people are by nature gregarious. It is almost considered a mental defect if you actually desire no contact with other humans. We crave interacting with others. I read of an experiment where a single mouse was put in a cage with one drink that was just water and another drink that was water laced with cocaine. The mice in this experiment tended to get hooked on the cocaine water [2]. That was interesting, but even more interesting was when this was replicated with a group of mice in a cage instead of an isolated mouse. In the group setting the mice generally ignored the drugged water, presumably because they enjoyed being with other mice more than getting a fix of drugs. We have an innate need for connecting with others. Our scriptures even say, “It is not good for man to be alone.” This connection with others isn’t as strong for just anybody – we of course want to be with and be validated by others LIKE us much more so than others that are quite different from us. It is almost cliché how you hear of stay at home moms just craving some time with adults after being with kids all day long. I can remember at times coming home to my wife that was a stay at home mom at the time and thinking, “why is she so frustrated?” Of course I was smart enough to keep that thought to myself and just try and help. But I distinctly remember watching the kids for 3 days solid when she took a trip and I couldn’t figure out how she had not gone insane. I WANTED to get back to work just to talk with others.
So it is with blogs like Wheat and Tares. Many (most?) of us congregate here because we see things generally(-ish) the same way. We receive validation that our thoughts and beliefs are not THAT strange. We love how someone else is tuned into the same conversation – somewhat like in the parabolic sound mirrors. In this vast internet, someone gets us. Just as when I was in the anechoic chamber, we find it uncomfortable when we are around others that see things very differently and don’t reflect back any of our views (and often proclaim their view as THE only correct view). It is comforting to know you are not alone and share how each of us deal with issues. On various blog I have read over and over how when an individual finds a blog that resonates with them, they are just ecstatic. Just to find someone else that has the same point of view – even on just one topic – can be very satisfying. Now of course we don’t resonate with every blog around. There are some that like to “troll” and agitate blogs where they disagree – somewhat similar to opposing groups protesting at the same location both trying to yell louder than the rival as if this will settle the conflict. Even more infrequent are the individuals that truly enjoy looking at alternative points of view and have a rational discussion even if they are not in agreement. Some only lurk and just read. Others come to have the opportunity to delight in just clicking “like” or comment “I couldn’t agree more”, while others come to fight for ideas.
I have seen many comments about how our current technology and culture are creating echo chambers. FaceBook algorithms selectively presenting what we see along with behaviors of only watching one specific news show, or reading only selective blogs, and even where we choose to live all create much more of an echo chamber effect than past generations. I heard a podcast talking about the history of news in the US and they mentioned that when there were only 3 national TV news shows, the news teams felt the need to TRY and be impartial and balanced as they didn’t want to lose viewer. Some news channels now specifically target a specific audience. These many factors create a higher probability of a situation where we mainly are exposed to the views that are similar to our own – or as it is more commonly called – an “echo chamber.” I personally agree with others that this is driving the polarity we see in the US on so many topics. I have heard many long-term political commentators say that in places like the US congress and senate there used to be at least a few Republicans that were more liberal than some of the few more conservative Democrats. These commentators says that today they don’t see this and instead there are 2 camps and seldom is there a sincere reaching across the aisle. It is also mentioned that in the past the 2 parties would socialize with each other, but that seems to have all but ended. If all day long you only hear/see others saying how great we are and how bad the other side is, it is hard for most people to think about how they may be wrong as they just seem SO right there is no argument to be made other than the one they hold.
Need some pictures of a group of people seeming to really be interacting. Maybe another one of 2 very different sets of people both in separate groups not talking with each other?
- So are we creating echo chambers where we shout, “We are right!” and just listen to the echoes that reverberate?
- Does this and other blogs contribute to the echo chambers?
- Does our church culture suffer from some “Echo chamber” effect?
- Do you branch out, at least occasionally, to a wide variety of blogs or viewpoints?
- How do we balance the need to feel some sort of community, but at the same time be listening to other points of view?
Discuss.
[2] They also seemed to enjoy Eric Clapton songs for some reason. OK, not really – or at least that wasn’t part of the experiment.
Wheat & Tares 
I feel like I visit others’ echo chambers, and that I really don’t have one of my own. Sometimes it’s really interesting, and sometimes it’s so tedious I wander away. W&T is usually pretty good. I enjoy and learn from it. My experience at church doesn’t feel like being in an echo chamber — I really like my ward.
Interesting thoughts, Happy Hubby. I totally know what you’re talking about with the validation of finding others who agree with my point of view. It’s even better when they are even better able to articulate issues that bug me than I am myself, so I can just point to what they write and say “Yes! This!”
I also think you’re right about the dangers of echo chambers. I’m conflict avoidant, so I have a hard time going places where people disagree strongly with me. During election years (I’m in the US), I end up hiding a lot of my Facebook friends who post about political stuff I don’t like. I know it’s a danger that I just hear from people I agree with, but I’m just too much of a wimp (and not very good at disagreement without being sarcastic or rude) to read all the stuff I disagree with.
We try to cover wide viewpoints here to avoid the echo chamber effect.
W&T is one of the best blogs at avoiding the echo chamber. You can get engagement from many sides even though sometimes it may seen too contrary.
I think every blog runs the risk of becoming an echo chamber, but in some cases that’s the point. A lot of blogs are essentially support groups, and (like you said) people need the validation. The Internet has a way of providing unprecedented access to support groups of every kind. I made the mistake of offering a contrary opinion in a particular blog when I was first starting out, and was surprised at the hostility. Later I recognized that blog as more the support group type and why my comment had that level of offense.
One of the things I like about W&T is the lax moderation. The goal is to allow conversation from across the spectrum. The goal may not always be achieved, but it’s something most of us aim for.
I still like looking at different blogs and posts from across the spectrum. I tend to comment a lot less on those that I feel are more echo chambers (even if I agree with the particular sentiment). It seems unnecessary to provide validation if I see others doing a sufficient job. If I’m participating online, it’ll usually be part of a discussion.
From the comments it would seem like several that frequent this blog feel like it does do a good job of covering a wide set of viewpoints. I would echo that sentiment (pun intended) and I do spend most of my blog viewing here.
Thanks for the comments.
” I heard a podcast talking about the history of news in the US and they mentioned that when there were only 3 national TV news shows, the news teams felt the need to TRY and be impartial and balanced as they didn’t want to lose viewer. Some news channels now specifically target a specific audience”
Yes, I have long thought this. I think the extreme partisanship has evolved hand-in-hand with news corps targeting and cultivating specific audiences. Example, Fox News really seemed to encourage participation in the early days of the Tea Party.
I think if we only access sites which underscore our viewpoints we may become captive by our own echo c I heard a podcast talking about the history of news in the US and they mentioned that when there were only 3 national TV news shows, the news teams felt the need to TRY and be impartial and balanced as they didn’t want to lose viewer. Some news channels now specifically target a specific audiencehambers. Blogs can be valuable, but I think a “danger” of blogs is if people use them as a primary news source, ignoring the echo chamber aspect. I appreciate blogs like W&T because reading it makes me feel less like an alien in the very conservative church area I live in.
Oops–note to self: review before posting. Let’s try that again.
” I heard a podcast talking about the history of news in the US and they mentioned that when there were only 3 national TV news shows, the news teams felt the need to TRY and be impartial and balanced as they didn’t want to lose viewer. Some news channels now specifically target a specific audience”
Yes, I have long thought this. I think the extreme partisanship has evolved hand-in-hand with news corps targeting and cultivating specific audiences. Example, Fox News really seemed to encourage participation in the early days of the Tea Party.
I think if we only access sites which underscore our viewpoints we may become captive by our own echo chamber. Blogs can be valuable, but I think a “danger” of blogs is if people use them as a primary news source, ignoring the echo chamber aspect. I appreciate blogs like W&T because reading it makes me feel less like an alien in the very conservative church area I live in.
Great post, HH. It’s so true that echo chambers are driving our polarity. It really is hard these days not to curate the “feed” to exactly what I want to hear. Living in Rexburg I’m often faced with opposing views (as a more-liberal mormon) but one of the reasons I also love it is because people here continue to surprise me – often challenging my stereotypes and expectations. Well, I try to have low expectations so I can end up pleasantly surprised.
In that environment I needed an online group of people who “just got me.” I’m surrounded by people who often don’t. I’m now realizing that me finding people in Rexburg who “get me” exactly correlates with my declining activity on the blogs. Huh, go figure.
As for perusing the blogs, while I do it less so now I like the places that challenge me in different ways. I can’t usually handle hostility, so avoid m*/mws etc…..but you can sometimes find me lurking at keepa and times and seasons. I like that those places are different than my normal “at home” faves bc I like the different lenses. Of course bcc, exponent, zd, & fmh are all great…..
Good post Happy Hubby.
Adding my voice to those who like the variety of perspectives on W&T.
Also, editors… can’t trust ’em!
Blogs, discussion boards, church, corporations are all at risk of becoming echo chambers. In the business world a similar concept is group think. Everyone is passionate about what they are doing and somehow asking a challenging question becomes anathema and discouraged, and the road to group think has begun.
For the record I am an active, but highly unorthodox mormon, boarding on heretic.
I recognize the psychological flaws to which each of us is susceptible. Cognitive bias such as stereotyping, avoidance, confirmation bias, etc. etc.
So even though I am now highly unorthodox and no longer believe the same things about my faith as I did just 7 years ago, I still actively work to avoid, as best I can, these cognitive biases. Group think and being in an echo chamber being amongst the top on my list.
How do I do this?
I read blog posts like this one.
I read books and information on all sides of a question. For example, even though I no longer believe quite a number of the church’s truth claims as they are taught in sunday school, I just finished reading Laura Hales book, “A reason for faith”.
I want to continue to expose myself to good think and the best answers that I can find. It is not enough to feel self righteous that I have somehow figured the world out and now shut down my brain.
The question we all have to wrestle with is “do I have real intent”?
I learned, sadly, that in much of my mormon life I didn’t have real intent. I believed the church was true. I wanted the church to be true. So I cherry picked my information. I emphasized spiritual experiences to the exclusion of valid external evidence. And ultimately I was only seeking one answer and evidence to support it that the church was true no matter what.
I realized I was committing the exact same sin that the cynic was committing who believed the church was false and would only look at negative evidence. I was on the opposite side of the exact same coin.
So I believe the concept of echo chambers may put us at a higher risk of falling into these traps. It puts us at a higher risk of not having real intent. We have an agenda. And that agenda is proving we are right. Which is not exactly the same agenda as wanting to know what is true.
Do what is right and let the consequences follow.