Remember the dream of the paperless office?
Many, many years ago, when one wanted to record important information for posterity, one carved it into store. Later, we learned that making impressions in soft clay and firing it was much easier- and the volume of information deemed worthy of preservation increased considerably (or, so it seems, based on the volume of clay tablets uncovered by archaeologists). Later, we learned an even easier way, by painting symbols on scraps fo animal hides...on to the printing presses and today with computer-generated content. Each advancement has broadened the concept of what is worth preserving. Which means it gets harder and harder to actually find that little tidbit of information that provides the "aha!" moment that gets the project moving along. It is not the lack of information that causes the problem- it is the critical information hiding in a forest of information that "might be useful someday". This increases the "cost" of the important stuff, because it takes more time to find it. Which encourages certain personality types to hold the really important stuff in secret, to improve their personal power.
I think someone who could come up with a decent filter could make a fortune...(Are you listening, Google?). Maybe something like, "Who has the answer to my question?"
Of course, we have to be sure we are asking the right questions, first...
