The last time I asked a librarian for help, it was because I needed her to manually place a hold on a movie I was looking to rent that wasn't available in my location's network. Before that, I wanted to know where the fax machine was. Before that, I think I was 11.

The role of the librarian has become increasingly unnecessary. Why?

Because ancient databases have evolved to become more user-friendly. Librarians aren't the lone guardians of information anymore. Knowledge has been democratized.

Is this a bad thing?

No. This is a wonderful thing. 99.99% of the populace benefits. But there will be less librarians needed. Some say I'm cold for not thinking of the .01%. I say you're out of your mind for not prioritizing the 99.99%.

If you do any research on the placebo effect, your mind will be blown at how powerful the human mind is. But, I wonder if too much of our time is spent on considering the power of "positive" placebos?

What about negative placebos? What about when we get tricked into thinking we feel bad?

If a doctor can give me sugar pills that make my "allergy headaches" go away, perhaps the times that I'm feeling bad, I really don't?