> Education is the process through which the body of knowledge and culture that we have been accumulating for thousands of years passes from our generation to t

> Education is the process through which the body of knowledge and culture that we have been accumulating for thousands of years passes from our generation to the next one. In aggregate, yes. But no one person gets the entire body of knowledge that humanity has accumulated for thousands of years. This is impossible for any single person to understand. Each person can only hope to get a piece, and hopefully some of those useful skills the author derides so that they can contribute a piece of their own back to the whole. Because simply understanding civilization - even if it were possible for one person to do - does not prevent any of the decay the author is concerned about. It must be improved upon and re-transmitted to the next generation in order for it to endure.