Knowledge has become democratized over time.
At one time, knowledge was kept by the elders or shamans of a tribe. They memorized the knowledge and passed it down to the next generation.
Then writing and scrolls allowed the knowledge to be written down. Again the knowledge was controlled by a few people.
Then scrolls were turned into books which allowed people to get to the information faster thereby allowing more people to have access.
Then came the printing press that allowed books to be copied allowing even more people access to the knowledge.
Now we have the internet where everyone has access to the knowledge on devices they carry in their pockets.
The fact that someone has knowledge no longer makes them valuable.
It is the people who can find the knowledge, who have their unique perspective, and can creatively use the knowledge.
The next step in the history of knowledge is each individual having their own personal book of knowledge (PBOK). A PBOK can be thought of as your own personal internet that has the knowledge and connections that are of interest to you. The knowledge that you are connecting together in unique and creative ways.