Has anyone ever become truly smart without reading books? An AI-era question resurfaces
RexDouglass · x · 2026-11-09
Alexis Gallagher poses a sharp question: is there a single person who became extremely skilled at something mainly learned from books, without ever reading one — or does that only feel possible now with AI?
RexDouglass adds a counterintuitive empirical note: in many academic fields, books are actually lower quality and easier to get published than journal articles, and the more popular the book, the more that holds.
Related event: Can You Become Brilliant Without Reading? AI Era Reignites Old Debate(2 posts)→
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