Quote of the Day (Karl Taro Greenfeld, on the Internet as a Boon to Fake Cultural Literacy)

“It’s never been so easy to pretend to know so much without actually knowing anything. We pick topical, relevant bits from Facebook, Twitter or emailed news alerts, and then regurgitate them. Instead of watching ‘Mad Men’ or the Super Bowl or the Oscars or a presidential debate, you can simply scroll through someone else’s live-tweeting of it, or read the recaps the next day. Our cultural canon is becoming determined by whatever gets the most clicks.” —Karl Taro Greenfeld, “Faking Cultural Literacy,” The New York Times, May 25, 2014