The echo-chamber. It’s a buzzword really, echo-chamber, a phrase without much meaning for most people. Of course people want their opinions validated, of course they want to have their closely held beliefs venerated publicly. Humans are social animals who build societies linked by social-contracts, spoken and unspoken. Humans care about one another, especially when reciprocated.

As I grew, I learned from the mistakes I made. I corrected my notions, behaviors, and ideals. A child touches a hot stove; they get burned, it hurts—they learn very quickly not to repeat this mistake. So long as the wound received does not overcome their ability to learn or heal; the lesson was a net positive. “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger” so the phrase goes. It should be amended to—that which we can learn from, makes us stronger. We cannot learn if we are dead, that is obvious. If however, I failed to learn from my mistakes, the pain I endured was wasted and the agony unjustified. When I resort to fantasy, when I delude myself with escapism or fail to face my fears; I have wasted a fragment of my life.

I am no stranger to suffering, there is much I have yet to recover and learn from. I have many regrets, many small deaths of self that I will never get back. My future, truncated, cropped into a small box from which I cannot easily escape. But—I have learned, and grown, and improved. I am not perfect nor always kind and careful. I possess no great secret, nor am I gifted with incredible insight. I do however believe that I have some inkling of how to get through life with a modicum of happiness. At least, I’d say it is to find an accurate self-image, and be content with it. The opinions of others should not unduly influence the opinion of yourself, nor should the self opinion be too far from reality.

The echo-chamber… I clung to it once, reveled in the reflection of my delusions. My imagination is intense, powerful, and overwhelming; it is addictive, and not just for me. Others have fallen in love with poetic musings I’ve breathed life into; mental demons that come and go from my mind, like sparrows from a barn. This way lies misery.

The biggest danger of that reflection is loss of perspective. Society is a reality check, or should be. We live in a world with so many different “truths” and a few hard undeniable “facts”, or at least, they appear that way at first glance. I’m sure there are facts out there, mathematical laws that governs reality, but those rules are best explained by J.B.S. Haldane, “Now my own suspicion is that the Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.”

So, our collective societies create their own truths, their own facts to live by. We create a sort of reality touchstone in which to test each member of society against. When we touch our communal touchstone, it gives us a sense of perspective, a perspective closer to the society as a whole.

So what does this touchstone look like? It is the laws we enact to govern the behaviors of others. It is the bully that doesn’t like what you say or think. It is the talking head on TV you disagree with. It is the news of something you once barely cared about, but are suddenly interested in. The touchstone isn’t truth, it’s a difference of opinion. Not because that opinion is right, or wrong, but because it is different.

In the echo-chamber, we are isolated from that which might disturb our self-image. We can grow into that self-image, enhance it, sculpt it to a perfect beautiful masterpiece of self delusion. Some of us create god in our image, and name ourselves their chosen one. Others place themselves at the center of the human story, the main character in a world of their own devising. A select few decide they must be the antagonist instead, the scourge upon which others will learn the “truth”.

We each have our own little world bubble, the internal reference to how the world works, who matters, who doesn’t. We each see the world outside as subtly different, subtly altered by our own perceptions. No one truly sees it as it is, not even the cutting edge scientists unlocking the secrets of physics; no, they only map the input to the best approximation their mind can comprehend. This isn’t a failing of mind either, but a failing of the human senses. No one can see with their own eyes the cloud of energy that makes up each atom of each molecule of each cell of our being. No, we only see a tiny slice of the waveform reflected to incidentally sensitive nerve endings.

We have to use our imagination, a cunning and beautiful tool, to try and find an inkling of reality beyond our dull senses. We ask ourselves “Is the blue I see, the same as the blue you see? Or is my blue, your red, my yellow, your green?” Well—we might ask ourselves that question, if we were exposed for a moment to anything outside of our echo-chamber. The Physics of Light is so mundane to the uninformed, but sublime to those who look a little closer.

Self reflection cannot occur without conflict. I do not know if this is controversial, or common knowledge, but I believe it entirely. Our opinions must be challenged, or we will never question them, never evaluate and improve. If my world view never comes into question, then I will never question it, even if I believe I am the chosen one, if I believe that others must die to prove how right I am.

The echo-chamber is the origin of overreaction, of extremism, of violence. A child grown to Adult in the absence of illumination, never learns to see. A child grown to Adult, never taught to reason or question or consider anything beyond what was fed to them as an infant—will lack the tools necessary to cope with life beyond the creche. We create a society of extremes, and a society of fragility. We sculpt self-images that cannot hold up to even a cursory glance, while never learning the tools to cope with that same result.

Who you are, is not who you think you are, nor what others think you are. Too many people believe either of two extremes. One, that we are the driver in the vehicle of our minds and bodies, that we have full control over our actions and thoughts. The other, that we have no control, that it is god’s will, or the raw instinct, or hormones, or genes; that we are observers within the impenetrable complexity of our biological or theological existence. Where the line is drawn, I cannot say, perhaps a neurologist some day will have an answer, but I do know that I am both driver, and observer. I may not have absolute control over my thoughts and feelings, but I can control how I react to them, and how I act in response to them. I also know, this behavior is learned, not intrinsic to the human mind.

I challenge you to master the beast within, and I challenge you, to give voice to the inner realm. Do not deny who you are, but do not allow who you are to control what you do. Do not succumb to the delicious rapture that is the echo-chamber. The tempting inner delusions, and the pretty paths welcoming us into the delusions of others, are traps. And those who lay the traps for us, including our own inner selves, will not thank you for questioning their delusions. You will be rejected, hated, scorned for daring to challenge them. Their hatred and fear is not your responsibility.

Do not avoid the pain of life, it is more valuable than you know. It is said, that you should “Accept misfortune as the human condition,” for “misfortune comes from having a body. Without a body, how could there be misfortune?” I believe these words, as simplistic and trite as they sound, to be one of the most abject truths I have ever met. Misfortune, sorrow, and pain, are the result of a life well lived. Without the pain, we cannot know pleasure; without sorrow, we cannot know joy; without misfortune, we cannot appreciate fortune. So long as it does not kill us, so long as we learn from it, so long as we continue to grow—we will find happiness.

End

3/5/2019

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