I grew up in the ’80s, and in the ’80s, we knew who was smart.

They were the guys and girls who knew the answers, remembered the details, and could recite the formulas. They studied, asked questions in class, and stayed late to talk with the teacher.

If I wanted to get a better grade, I’d step into the halo of the smart ones. I’d do my work and then compare. Maybe I’d sneak a peek at their paper, or drop a casual, “Hey, what do you have #2?”

Post-internet, we’re all smarter.

We’ve outsourced our memory to the cloud. Why remember what you can look up? Ask Google, Wikipedia, Wolfram-Alpha, or ChatGPT.

We’ve outsourced our decision-making to media. Why risk being an outsider? Let’s make sure we think the same as our tribe.

We’ve outsourced attention to detail to our devices. Why not be more efficient? Just ask Alexa with our smartphones, smart TVs, and smart homes.

In hindsight, I’m not so sure we’re any smarter.

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