"Living on a desert island can't lead to growth; the exchange of ideas is necessary to make us grow." Agree or disagree, use an example or examples.
In the democratic societies, exchanging ideas with other people seem to be essential part of life. People express their opinions and share them with other almost everyday. And it is generally understood that through this open interaction with others, people will find the best answers to many things.
A story I heard from a teacher about NASA's museum of astronomical technology proves otherwise.
According to the story, a team was sent to the museum to improve the museums's exhibition, because it had been notorious for its bad quality. And when the team looked around, they found that explanations and sign in the museum lacked coherency.
Surprise at the jumbled signs, the members of the team asked why the museum had turned so disorderly and they found out that the museum had changed itself according to comments from every visitor. Being open to everybody's opinions had worsened the situation of the museum rather then improved it.
The exchange of ideas is not always needed to improve oneself. Sometimes, one can learn more by thinking by oneself trying to find the answer. When he first went out the world, Siddhartha tried to find wise men who will show him the road to enlightenment.
But as he traveled and met more and more famous men, he was only disappointed. It was under a tree when he was thinking by himself that he at last was enlightenment and became Buddha. Doing something without other's interruption, as in Siddhartha's example, can sometimes bring more improvement on oneself.
Even though sharing opinions with others is a cherished act in modern democracy, it does not necessarily bring improvement on people themselves. Sometimes, we need to be more independent in order to breed in ourselves creativity that can not be acquired through other's opinions.