"Why is this a surplus? Because, by definition, those hundreds of millions of hours aren't being used productively."

By what definition? The definition of productive? Whose definition of productive? Of what relevance is it? Productive for whom? Productive for what purpose? Whose purpose?

This is a softball article which is nothing more than a soapbox of disjointed ideas that are packaged to appeal to cocktail party goers. They don't really mean anything. Cultural elitism and horse shit.

I whole-heartily agree with you, Paul. If people would find that inquisitive child lurking within themselves, they would discover a fascinating wealth of knowledge at their fingertips. But, adapting a person who isn't a 'reader' into someone who appreciates finer literature will be a hard process. I find it difficult to lead my learning team to read more efficiently the course materials we have in any given week; then they are confused by the rudimentary assignments that are due. I would love to have a 'Psychology Today' to read on a long plane trip instead of those airline magazines full of advertising!