The written word is one of the cornerstones of modern civilisation, and yet if it had been up to the great Greek philosopher Socrates it would have been done away with a long time ago. He believed true learning could only happen through direct dialogue with another human being, through a back and forth of questions and answers, until a topic was examined from all angles. He feared that the written word would result in a superficial 'fake' knowledge, with people thinking they understood things merely because they had read the words on a page. Thankfully his student Plato...