Vassar: I think that the scientific lineages phenomenon requires more than a sentence or two of attention. Half of Nobel Prizes go to the doctoral students of other Nobel Laureates

Eliezer: This is insanity. Does no one know what they're teaching?

The possibility that knowledge is more easily transmitted face-to-face than through books is no cause for despair. It might however be cause to increase the likelihood that you will contact the author to request a face-to-face meeting when you come across a good piece of writing on an important subject. I'd meet with you at no cost to you with the sole goal of helping you understand something I know, and I expect that there are many like me.