Birds of a feather flock together ... and atrophy their critical faculties.

Mesmerized by 'The Daily Me'

by

Nicholas Kristoff, NY Times

http://tinyurl.com/dz6v3n

While it's more comfortable only to talk to those who agree with you, there is limited ability to modify or even improve your arguments and positions. Open discussion of diverse opinions, together with fact-checking, is the best way to arrive at both truth and a consensus ( the first being much more important than the second. ) The fact-checking is important because, while everyone is entitled to her own opinion, everyone is not entitled to her own set of facts. What's more, there are principles of logic. For example, a reductio ad absurdum is an endpoint not a start for a new, still erroneous thread.