“The schools turned away from the intellectual disciplines and became agencies for adjusting the young generations to the complexities of an industrial world. The technology of so-called mass communication seemingly extended the reach of ideas, but actually dulled public attention by excess and abolished the capacity for quick, common response. In short, the gains produced by the ideal of Diffusion proved, as might have been expected, diffuse.” (Jacques Barzun, Science: The Glorious Entertainment)