The death of the public intellectual

There’s a frustration in feeling like every idea has already been picked apart by someone smarter, faster, and with a larger audience than you. For many, the impulse to add to the conversation is suffocated by their fear of redundancy. I’m sure a lot of us can relate to that—I know every time I go to write an essay, I feel like I’m just echoing ide... See more

It’s also understandable that some hesitate to step into the intellectual sphere today because it feels like everything has already been said and done. We live in a time where every thought, argument, counterargument, and counter -counterargument have already been made and analyzed. The modern landscape isn’t necessarily devoid of intellectuals, it... See more

Algorithm-driven echo chambers ensure that we only ever hear from people we already agree with. It’s not that people don’t argue anymore—we argue constantly —but the nature of the debate has changed. The goal is no longer to explore or challenge ideas, but to perform intelligence and “win” whatever discourse is currently relevant. The effect is an ... See more