“Men are suddenly nomadic gatherers of knowledge”

I like this phrase! Lawrence Quill attributes it to “that prophet of technology, Marshall McLuhan” (p.338), quoting him as saying:

“…with electricity and automation, the technology of fragmented processes suddenly fuses with the human dialogue and the need for over-all consideration of human unity. Men are suddenly nomadic gatherers of knowledge, nomadic as never before, informed as never before, free from fragmentary specialism as never before—but also involved in the total social process as never before; since with electricity we extend our central nervous system globally, instantly interrelating every human experience (1964, p. 311).”

Ref: (p.338, emphases in blue bold mine) Lawrence Quill (2011) The Disappearance of Adulthood. Studies in Philosophy and Education 30(4)July:327–341