# 3 — Loud matters more than any other factor.
We would all rather have the world around us confirm and reinforce our current perspectives, interpretations, and opinions than challenge or contradict them. We would rather be right than wrong. It is a natural impulse but it is one that can lead us astray, or leave us vulnerable to being led astray, if we are not careful.
Before the seductive forces of ego or narcissism even enter into it we prefer to be right than wrong for a very basic and pragmatic reason. If we are right about things then we have a greater ability to keep ourselves safe. If we are capable of being right it means we are more capable of accurately analyzing the world around us and thus more capable of foreseeing, avoiding, and protecting ourselves from danger.
Following on the heels of that comes the seductive allure of being right where others are wrong, of having a greater sense of control and power than others. At a base level this reaffirms our ability to keep ourselves safe because it has been demonstrated as superior to that of others. Superiority leads to a position of power which then grants us the capacity to prevent those we have power over from becoming threats to our safety.
These are all very natural impulses, rooted in our reptilian-brain survival instincts. The trouble is we get the…