Too much talk....too little substance...too sparse introspection

The current craze about Twitter is enough to drive one crazy! Even some of my colleagues who are not exactly techno-geeks are infatuated with the 140 character assassination of any thoughtful comment.
A colleague remarked to me that the students in his Honors class were not participating in class discussions, which to him meant disrespecting him, the material, and the other students in the class. His expectation was that students, whether they liked or disliked the material or the instructor, would come to class and engage in learning and participate in discussions. He was enquiring about my experience with students in my Honors course. I come from a philosophy/point of view that

1. We talk too much, and process too little.
2. Quantity, as in the amount of debate and number of participants, seems to dominate over quality of debate or of argumentation.

Many of the faculty members I come across believe, rather ignorantly, that they are "legends" - unfortunately only in their own minds. Here are some statements faculty members make that reveal deep ignorance:

1. "We had a great discussion in class today. " I have never had anyone come to me and say "we had a lousy class discussion today." If every discussion is great, where is the power of discrimination? If everyone expressing his/her viewpoint is sufficient for a great discussion, the future of the country is in greater jeopardy than is believed.
2. Students wrote great critical reflection papers. Three words that are used with callous disregard- great, critical, and reflection. I would be happy if one of my students wrote a paper that just showed some thought, some reflection, but after ascertaining relevant facts and data. I have never found anyone who has actually presented anything resembling "critical reflection" but have found plenty who just like to talk. These are the same folks who praise students for 'critical reflection.' How does one separate 'critical reflection' from 'mere mundane reflection?' Perhaps if it can be Twittered, then it is 'critical reflection.'

Thinking...It is hard, much harder than talking.