That sounds right. Anecdotally, some things I have memorised:
- Several phone numbers
- My National Insurance number (UK version of Social Security)
- 16 digit card number for 2 cards, as well as all the other numbers on the cards.
- 10 or so passwords (less important ones are randomly generated and handled by password managers.
So as you say, we may not be able to recite a 50-page poem, but one could argue that it's a lot easier to live in the modern world with many abstract strings memorised, in addition to all the knowledge that's considered crystallised intelligence.
I agree with what you said in this comment and the conversation below. Everyone already pays for access to the internet, either to their ISP or via a mobile data plan (with the majority probably paying for both).
In the early days of the internet, there was no expectation to be paid for creating content - people simply created it out of their own goodwill or because it's their passion.
If I set up a personal website, I expect that to be a sunk cost; people pay for my content with their attention. Obviously, attention doesn't put food on the table, but it's saddening to see the contrast between what the Internet could be, and what it is currently.
In the UK, Lloyds TSB split into 2 banks (Lloyds and TSB) in 2013.
tl;dr
In April 2018 1.9 million TSB customers were left unable to bank online, some for several weeks; this was caused by customers being moved to a new system, which was only tested offline.
"Other failings by TSB that it identified included setting "unnecessary" time constraints, which did not understand the complexity of the project, and being dishonest about the reasons for delays."
Lots of varied, interesting opinions in this thread. For fans of dark mode, there is a Firefox extension that lets you customise colors of every element, and process the CSS in different ways. Been using it for a few years now, and I prefer it to the Dark Reader extension that Firefox recommends.
The Hard Thing about Hard Things by Ben Horowitz. It's aimed at founders who intend to be long-term CEOs (rather than employing a professional CEO once the org is big enough). Niche topic but I found a lot of worthwhile lessons in the book.
I am in your situation. No longer work in a factory but still in a dead-end job. Have you considered trying to become a sysadmin instead? Everyone and their nan are trying to become programmers, but network engineering gets overlooked a lot. CCNA + maybe an AWS cert and you would easily find an entry-level role. GL.
Reminds me of a scene in The Town - they were going to rob a bank, and they collected whole bags of hair from a barbershop floor, and spread it during the robbery.