Scratching an intellectual itch may just make it worse. We are accustomed to chasing down every unknown factor in conversations with a quick Googling. The more we do this the less patient we are with not knowing even the smallest bit of trivia. I have noted in my recent leisure, that the more idle time we have, the greater is the tendency to idle curiosity, which hasn't quite killed this cat yet, but very well may someday. When you don't actually have to get a lot done, it is easy to satisfy the longing for informational completeness. Just in the last day, I have consulted the Google in the sky for several definitions, the lyrics to "Show Me the Way to Go Home" (land, sea, and foam??), the impact of sodium citrate on my kidneys; the difference between a serviceberry and a blueberry; the distinction and treatments for bites from fleas, bedbugs, bird mites, and noseeums; the price of laundry baskets; John Calvin's position on the stewardship of nature; how to salvage moldy cheese; how to pronounce the name of a presidential candidate; and the names of other members of a board I just joined.
I have trouble imagining a world in which I couldn't resolve all these issues with a quick consult with my phone. Will it get worse? Can retirement lead to a paralysis of information input in which we just submerge ourselves in increasingly irrelevant minutiae and am I sure I spelled that right? Just a sec and I'll check.