[metamemetics]

>Since most information is just a quick web search away, most people have no incentive to actually absorb that information.

it's a moot point. In the 1700's we wouldn't have had access to the information anyway. Or even the money, time, and opportunities like aristocracy such as Jefferson had to buy books from London and study the smaller amount of knowledge available then.

So rather than not having an incentive to absorb information X, we wouldn't have even known it existed! A large part of knowledge is knowing what you DON'T know. The truly dangerous individuals are idiots that think they know everything.

Hopefully the web is making people realize that there are a lot of things out there they DON'T know. Decreasing anti-intelluctialism, provincialism, and narrow-mindedness.

I would be ecstatic if more people got their news from the web than from television!

[eitally]

You're correct, of course, but the fact that information is only a web search away has driven down the perceived value of formal study and demotivates children from learning. That was my point, not that Jefferson wasn't exceptionally fortunate himself. Jefferson's own regimented work ethic, however, was an outlier even amongst his privileged peers.