Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant. — Mitch Kapor

Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant.

Author: Mitch Kapor

Insight: We all know the feeling now—that moment when you sit down to answer one simple question and three hours later you're drowning in tabs, conflicting advice, and rabbit holes you didn't ask for. The quote lands differently today than it might have when Kapor said it. Back then, the internet was still somewhat novel. Now it's just the water we swim in, and the fire hydrant metaphor feels almost quaint in its understatement. The real problem isn't just volume, though. It's that every source shouts with the same confidence. A peer-reviewed study sits next to someone's conspiracy theory, both formatted identically, both claiming to have the truth. We've trained ourselves to be skeptics, but skepticism takes energy. It's easier to just grab whatever answer feels right or confirms what we already believe. We've become excellent at filtering, which sounds good until you realize we're mostly filtering for comfort rather than accuracy. What's worth considering is that this isn't really an information problem anymore—it's a trust problem. We have more facts available than ever, but fewer agreed-upon sources for what actually matters. The real skill now isn't finding information; it's knowing which voices are worth listening to and having the patience to sit with uncertainty when the answer isn't obvious.