“Smart people” who only consume “smart things” are just prisoners of their own self-image. “Intelligence” is less about just what you consume and more about the insights you can extract from whatever you engage with.

Whenever I read a book and then check out the online commentary, I find that… most other people have not actually read the book. They’re pretending. This is abundantly clear for the tech canon, eg everyone has Seeing Like a State and The Power Broker on their bookshelf, but will pass off having skimmed a few chapters as having read the whole thing.... See more