Google is an amazing thing. It's something that I still take for granted on a day-to-day basis, but occasionally, I remember being in high school, very out of touch with pop culture, with a mind full of questions that I couldn't find easy answers to.

What can you do with the C programming language? How do you get better at product photography? Not sure. I have to go to the library and find the right book on the subject. And hopefully it's a useful book that I'll enjoy reading.

The basis of my education was very much predicated on the notion that my head should be filled with answers. Most parents, in the interest of helping their children succeed, try to turn their kids into little humanoid versions of Google. Have a question? Ask away, and the child will spit out the answer.

Before Google, the best way to compete from an intellectual standpoint was to have access to more knowledge in your head than others. But search engines and the Internet make that a commodity.

What matters now, more than ever, is not merely having the knowledge (because we all have access to it), but in successfully applying that knowledge in real-world situations. That's much more difficult to teach, so it's no wonder that public education is struggling to catch up.