I was a math major in college and one thing math majors like to do is show other math people how we proved something and let them find problems with our work. 

I then became a programmer, and designed software for people to use, and believe me, you become a sponge for feedback if you want to do this well. You get good at soliciting feedback, and listening to it, understanding what people are really saying (they often don't know the vocabulary) and asking for more info. 

Good software is made out of, in addition to programming, lots of listening.

It's in that spirit that I offer feedback to journalism and political leaders.

We need to do better.