Forty years ago, if you wanted to know something, you earned it. I mean really earned it.
Let me take you back. I was in school, and our library was a six-floor fortress of knowledge. One of those floors was nothing but a card catalog—shelf after shelf of little drawers filled with 3×5 index cards. If you wanted to write a paper on butterflies, you’d dig through those cards like a codebreaker. “Butterflies” might be listed under nature, insects, or some obscure Latin term. Each entry gave you a number—Dewey Decimal, of course—like 813.529. That number told you where to go if the book was there.
You’d jot it down. Third floor. Aisle B. Shelf 4. And sometimes… nothing. Book’s missing. Checked out. Misfiled. Lost to time.
So what did you do? You kept going. You’d spend hours in that card catalog, writing down numbers, hunting shelves like a treasure map. Some of the entries were only on microfilm, and let me tell you, that was about as fun as dental surgery with no Novocain.
Once you’d gathered your stack of maybe-books, you’d carry them to a desk and start flipping pages. You didn’t skim abstracts or search PDFs. You read. You took notes by hand. And when you found a quote you wanted? You had to cite it properly—page number, publication date, full bibliography. Teachers checked. If you quoted something, you’d better back it up.
And all this—all this—was just the research phase. Writing the actual paper took more time, more drafts, more effort. Weeks, sometimes.
And here’s the kicker: the books you were working from might’ve been five or ten years out of date. The world might’ve already moved on from what you were citing. But you had no way of knowing—no search engine, no instant updates, no RSS feed from the bleeding edge.
Same with the stock market. If you wanted to track prices, you didn’t get real-time updates. You got yesterday’s closing price from the Wall Street Journal. You literally penciled it into a notebook and checked it the next day. Rinse and repeat.
This wasn’t ancient history. We had airplanes, we had gas cars, we had TVs and phones. But we didn’t have access. We didn’t have speed. We didn’t have information flowing like water.
And maybe—just maybe—that’s why some people from that time learned to think differently. We didn’t just look up the answer. We had to go on a journey to find it. We had to doubt, question, cross-check, and—most of all—remember.
Fast Forward to Today: The Age of Frictionless Intelligence
Today it is freaking amazing. I’m writing this by talking to my phone—while I’m driving. And not just writing fluff, either. I could just as easily be dictating a full analysis comparing Exxon, Chevron, and Occidental Petroleum. I could ask for their P/E ratios, debt loads, geopolitical exposure, and ESG risks in third-world countries—and have a full report ready before the next red light.
I could be solving business problems. Drafting a contract. Translating documents. Brainstorming ideas for a new venture. Asking for stock trends. Reviewing legal cases. All without touching a pencil. Without flipping a card catalog. Without waiting two weeks for an interlibrary loan.
And you know what? That’s not science fiction. That’s a Tuesday.
It’s freaking amazing.
We’ve gone from hunting for information like miners in the dark, to having it pour into our hands like sunlight through a window. And the real question now isn’t can we find the answer—it’s can we ask better questions?
Because when the world gives you unlimited power… what you choose to look for might just be what defines you.
Smart Has Changed: From Card Catalogs to Conversations with the Cloud
Someone asked me recently why some people who seem so smart can also be so dumb. My answer was simple: they’re too wrapped up in their own version of intelligence to realize they might be missing the bigger picture. They live in a world of what they think is smart—and sometimes, that’s the dumbest place to be.
Let’s rewind.
Back in the 1500s, being smart meant having access. If you weren’t wealthy, odds are you’d never read a book, write a letter, or study anything beyond what someone told you at church. Knowledge was locked away, and education was a privilege.
Jump to the 1800s or 1900s, and books became more common. Literacy improved. People read more—but only what someone else had decided was worth publishing. Research was slow, narrow, and often outdated.
Even 40 years ago, Dewey Decimal and microfilm. Good luck with that.
And don’t even get me started on tracking stocks in the newspaper every morning. Calling your stock broker, and he would call his, and eventually it became a piece of paper on Wall Street.
Fast forward to today.
I’m talking into my phone—
In real time. That’s the magic. The data is fresh. The insight is fast. The barrier is gone.
Today, research isn’t about access—it’s about navigation. It’s about knowing what question to ask, and what to do with the answer. You don’t need to be the smartest person in the room if you know how to use the tools. It’s like being Superman: if you know how to ask, you can jump tall buildings in a single bound.
And here’s the kicker:
If you’re smart today, before you talk to a lawyer, an accountant, a mechanic, or a stockbroker—you ask your AI. Tell it your problem. Lay out the facts. Let it give you a clear, unbiased answer.
Then shut up. Go talk to the human expert. Listen. Take notes. Walk away, don’t spend any money or sign anything.
Then come back and feed that into the AI. See if they were bullshitting you. See if they made it more complicated than it needed to be. Because let’s face it, in my experience, a lot of professionals—lawyers, accountants, mechanics—make their money not just by solving problems, but by inventing them. Now go back to the human that didn’t lie and knew what they are talking about.
AI won’t replace thinking. But it can make a genius out of you—if you’re smart enough to ask the right question.
Remember: the smartest person today isn’t the one with all the answers, but the one who knows how to find them.
Because I’m still driving and haven’t reached my destination yet, I’m going to give you some bonus points. So, AI, give me a list of prompts, 10 common prompts that everyday people can use to solve a problem in their life. Things like health, car problems, dishwasher problems. You decide. You come up with it.
Here’s a quick cheat sheet you can use right now to start being the smartest person in the room:
10 Everyday Prompts That Make AI Your Best Friend
- Health Symptom Checker
“I’ve had a sore throat and mild fever for three days with no other symptoms. What could be the cause, and when should I see a doctor?” - Car Trouble Diagnosis
“My 2015 Toyota Camry is making a clicking noise when I turn the ignition but doesn’t start. What are the most likely causes and fixes?” - Dishwasher Not Cleaning Properly
“My dishwasher leaves residue on dishes after a full cycle. What are common reasons and DIY solutions?” - Budgeting Help
“I make $4,000 a month, and my rent is $1,400. Help me build a monthly budget that covers bills, groceries, savings, and some fun.” - Resume Polish
“Here’s my current resume for a project manager role. Can you improve the wording and format to make it more professional?” - Relationship Advice
“My partner and I keep arguing about household chores. How can I communicate better and create a fair system?” - Travel Planning
“Plan a 4-day affordable trip from Miami to Nashville for two adults, including places to see, eat, and sleep.” - Legal Questions (Basic)
“I loaned someone $1,000 and they won’t pay it back. What are my legal options in Florida under small claims court rules?” - Nutrition Help
“I want to lose 10 pounds in 2 months. I’m 45, moderately active, and eat meat. What’s a realistic meal plan I can follow?” - Fixing a Slow Computer
“My Windows 10 laptop is running very slowly. What are steps I can take to speed it up before replacing it?”
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