I get this dawning sense of gloom that being educated and well-read in America is going to become like being part of those populations of severely endangered species that always have tragic mating failures in zoos. And then they all sort of dwindle until they’re a postcard.

— A.V. Marraccini (@saintsoftness) December 6, 2025

This is already occurring. Neal Stephenson was right. I predict we’ll revert to roughly the historical norm with about 10-20% of the population literate to any degree. The rest will only be capable of watching and sending video and can recognize the occasional word.

What would stop that outcome? Nothing that I can see.