Agreed. I think synthesis of many facts/ideas/etc is the major advantage of the knowledge worker. When I was getting into programming in the early 00's, most

Agreed. I think synthesis of many facts/ideas/etc is the major advantage of the knowledge worker. When I was getting into programming in the early 00's, most people had stacks of books that they would refer to. I was using Google (and google groups was really useful back then) and just blowing by my co-workers in knowledge and productivity. I became the go-to person simply because I could research a problem and synthesize a solution quickly. Rainbow's End http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbows_End http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbows_End by Computer Science prof Vernor Vinge tells of a future where synthesis of data is the major skillset. Interesting read.