In the publishing industry, I understand the relationship between the writer and the editor as being like the relationship between an engineer and a QA engineer.

When operating well, the presence of the latter does not absolve the creator of responsibility; it spurs them to do their best work.

The tension of the pairing creates something much better than either could create in isolation: a dynamic tension, a dialogue.

I've heard that some Greek philosophers thought it wasn't possible to truly think without dialogue.

Dialogue is the dynamic tension between two distinct perspectives.

That tension gives a place to get leverage from, to not just be a muddled average.

You need a boundary to have two distinct things.

Everything within a single boundary, over time, averages together, losing the variance and zeroing in on the centroid.