Blog Post #11

     For this EOTO Presentation, I would have to say the topic that interested me the most would be the Echo Chamber. When I first heard of the team, I thought it was some kind of science chamber that's specifically designed to "echo" your voice, which sounded kinda funny to me. Now that I've learned about what it means, it kinda makes me somewhat neutral about it, as I feel there are many pros and cons regarding it.

     Echo Chambers has to do with people and sources supporting or having the same thoughts as you. I see this as a good thing for one key reason, the reason being that this type of thing can be important if one's goal is to try to find common interests between friends and even help support your thoughts and ideas for research purposes. Having people that have the same ideas as you and share your particular thoughts can make one feel a sense of fulfillment as if they found a special place where they can belong, but that's just my way of looking at it.

    That being said, Echo Chambers can also be a bad thing. If a person only focuses on people that support his/her ideas and only takes the sources that portray his own thoughts into account without any outside criticism, this can lead to some sort of fixed Mindset where you think that you alone are right and everyone else is wrong, being unable to keep an open mind and continue to be self-interested, not caring about anyone else's opinion that may oppose you. That basically goes against what HPU lives by having a Growth Mindset.

    In conclusion, I agree that it's important to focus on what you think is right while keeping an open mind about why your thoughts and ideas may be wrong. Looking at other sources and take all arguments into account is the key to having a good debate and a growth mindset.