Jeezy Chreezy

Holy wow, it's been a while... I suppose I'm back simply because I had a thought.

I was thinking the other day, perhaps inspired by the commercial about the new G1 phone that includes a Google search function, that I hope that general (and even specialized) knowledge does not go away due to fast access on the internet, the way phone numbers have been forgotten due to the cellular phone book.
I know many people who can no longer recall many (or any) of their friends' or family's phone numbers because they've simply entered them into their cell phones and forgotten, because they are now only referred to by name. Not only is this disturbing in the sense that we are relying on devices to do something we didn't seem to have much trouble doing on our own in the past, but it's also very foolish to put all your stock in a device that, if dropped in the wrong way, or gotten wet, may stop functioning, in which case you are completely lost! I admit I too am mostly at fault in this area as there are at least a few numbers I use a lot, but would never be able to recite from memory. I do still have the important ones locked in my head, and I hope that this is the case with everyone else.
I pray that the internet does not do the same thing to us with regard to answers to simple questions and that it augments rather than replaces our knowledge of the wide array of subjects in the world. However, more and more it seems people (especially young people) tend use the truly useful information on the internet for school or work in a cut and paste fashion, never really absorbing the nuggets of wisdom therein. I hope my fears are unfounded, but I'm starting to think, especially with the advertised combination of Google and a cell phone, that we are only starting down this dangerous road.