Like so many people I know, I buy a lot of books. The Book Depository, Amazon and The Pragmatic Programmers all get a slice of my (or The Frontier Group’s) credit card on a regular basis. iBooks and Amazon’s Kindle store make ebooks an attractive and convenient option when compared to the traditional, bulky medium. Their instant delivery further enhances their allure. We always buy the ebook and paper formats from the Prag Prog online store, proving that consumers still want a physical product in many cases.

But for all of the increasingly available knowledge, I’m still faced with an age old problem - there’s not enough time in the day.

This got me thinking: what’s the more important component for me, the act of learning or the result of knowing?

Do I buy books (and this can be extended to any learning materials) with the hope that one day I’ll have time to read them, and that this will result in me knowing more than before, or do I buy them to one day enjoy the journey of learning the new material?

If I could instead download knowledge directly into my brain, would I do that instead? I’m thinking Neo from the Matrix, “I know kung-fu” style. Is it about the journey, or is it about the destination? Does it change for various topics? How does this relate to recreation versus necessary-but-possibly-boring subjects?

Would the value of knowledge be drastically reduced if everyone could, within a few minutes, instantly attain it? Would it level the playing field, or would it further increase the gap if this technology was available, but was priced such that access was restricted to only the wealthy?

The same might be said about genetic selection - if you can choose (and afford) to have a 6 foot tall, muscular and intelligent son, what impact might that have on societies where the wealth didn’t support these choices?

Deep shit for a Saturday night, maybe.