> I like the analogy that English writers don't have to be at Shakespeare's level; even being able to write a shopping list is a very useful. Hence it's a good

> I like the analogy that English writers don't have to be at Shakespeare's level; even being able to write a shopping list is a very useful. Hence it's a good idea to teach everyone reading and writing at school. Language "skills" are strongly social. Literary acclaim falls squarely within celebritydom. Your ability cannot be too far off from the mean or else few will understand you. Though there may be some unmeasurable internal utility as a thinking tool. We learn to read and write to do it as well as our peers do. This covers 99% of the utility. There may be a social argument for programming, software is eating the world and having some shared understanding may be useful. But clearly technical ability is much less socially bound. The point at which you stop getting extra utility is very far from the mean.