For all the world to know
Aug. 3rd, 2023 11:27 amSome levels of accessibility of a given proven fact (to a random American), in approximately descending order:
– Takes seven seconds of Googling.
– On the Wikipedia page.
– In every book on the subject, incredibly basic part of the field.
– Most undergrads in the field can tell you.
– Most everyone who works in the field can tell you.
– Most everyone who works in the field can figure it out in short order, because either one of their colleagues knows it or it's in one of the well-known and respected books.
– You have to spend a day at the library, plus another day once the book you've requested from the Harvard Depository arrives.
– You have to check the indices of all 72 books on the subject at the Library of Congress.
– You have to check the indices of all 1137 books on the subject, and the one you need is at some random university library thirteen hundred miles away.
– It's randomly buried in an obscure book on the subject, and not indexed in any way.
– It's randomly buried in some random book in the university stacks.
– It's randomly buried in some random book somewhere.
– Not extant.