And a great harrumphing was heard across the land.

In other words, beautiful writing requires a patience that modern readers, perhaps, are not accustomed to allotting to words

As paper became cheaper, the art and craft of poetry became marginalized. There was less need to cram so much meaning in such a small space. Suddenly writers could write many words - and thrilled readers read many of them. Or at least they kept many of them on their shelves.

In other words, the way we used words, the way we processed information and relate to it changed.

Now, I'm on the autistic spectrum, so I'm reflexively horrified by change. But it happens. And it gives more than it takes away.

We don't retain information, I do not doubt that. But then, why should we? It's not like it's the great chore it once was to retrieve it - and if we retrieve it tomorrow, the same query will certainly contain more current results.

Indeed, here we are, doing that exact thing; curating knowledge on a platform that is designed from scratch to permit us to keep our stories current. We don't remember - because as the article points out, we have a tendency to remember inaccurately. It's better to return to the primary sources - and see if they have evolved in the meantime.

This being said, much of what the story speaks of is true. But I think it's only true for now - and an equally valid, very similar oral narrative could have been memorized and recited by those who mourned the passing of truly educated memory as writing became more common.