we live in a specialized nation. also a lot of laws limit what you can do. it used to be that you could fix your own car if it broke down, it still is to a limited degree, but soon enough it won't be. and when it isn't legal, nobody will teach how to do it, and people will forget how a basic combustible gas engine works. this whole article was on history and general knowledge, and those things take a back seat to specialized knowledge in today's fields. many of our high school students understand things that scholars did not back then. compare on older medical doctor to a medical doctor who graduated last year and compare their knowledge in the fields of medicine, pathology, and highly specific anatomy and you will find that the older doctors are ignorant, and many shouldn't even have their license by today's standards.

even back in the 50's and 60's nobody knew how to make a pencil.

this article is overly simplistic, and fails to address the specialized knowledge that is required to make it in the modern job market, and in the modern global trade industry. it also fails to take into account the insidious nature of corporate advertising and modern behavioral control techniques. but i expect it to be overly simplistic, it probably was written by a narcissistic baby boomer, who has redefined what "important" knowledge is so as to preserve their own self worth to their ego.

Let's see someone born in 1950 send a text message or set up a new computer. If we judged them on those skills they come off looking pretty stupid and incompetent. History is important but it's one subject that the academic standards in schools could care less about. Everyone pushes math and science.