[Blackstrat]

Unquestionably, many people today rely on LLMs more than actually reading. Before that, many depended on the IDE and the web to teach them the language. (What taught them the paradigm?). I think one of the issues though goes back to the bookstores themselves. For years, the quality of the STEM books that were actually available in the store declined precipitously. Perhaps it was the Amazon effect. Barnes and Noble and most independent shops didn't understand the market for the professional software developer. Browsing the shelves for "Designing Data-Intensive Applications" or "Clean Code" and instead finding shelves of Dummies books and IPhone for Seniors, etc. drove buyers to the web and Amazon. Even now, B&N Online can't match Amazon for selection. Since demise of the Borders chain, bookstores have been unwilling to absorb the carrying costs for deeper books that sell less frequently. The feedback loop kicked in and now the shelves are bare. The one thing that still works for me at the local B&N is watching for special orders that were declined by the customer and subsequently shelved. That's how I scored the latest version of the Art of Electronics for 40 something dollars. Those of you who are younger and rely on the web and "AI" will someday realize that your knowledge is less structured, and probably more shallow, than those of us here who are dinosaurs and learned the old way with textbooks and the like.