“In the past, you had to memorize or retain knowledge because there was a cost to finding it. Did you have the encyclopedia? Could you spend time going to the library? Did you know somebody you could ask who knew the answer to this question? Were you going to be in a group that had a discussion about it? Now, what can’t you find in 30 seconds or less? We live an open-book-test life that requires a completely different skill set.” —Mark Cuban
Facts on a bookshelf (or in a friend’s head, on the internet, etc.) is not knowledge.
If facts are not assimilated into knowledge, and knowledge is not constantly being distilled into wisdom (which doesn’t take place on library shelves), we’re no better off than those who lived in pre-Gutenberg days.