re: Books and education
Keep in mind that this is not actually about reading, or learning in general. Nor is it about Plato, or Homer.
This is about people who think they know everything there is to know about how the world works because they read the latest NYT best-seller by some Washington celebrity. The kind of people who think Keith Olbermann is the reincarnation of Edward R. Murrow.
There are many people whose authority I respect in many fields. The ones usually thrown at me as "authorities" aren't often in that category, and even those that are, I don't consider immune to criticism.