“In for a penny, in for a pound”, that should be the trademark of YouTube. Once you start watching one topic, the algorithm will just feed you video after video. And they are all bangers. That is how I fell down the rabbit hole that is Zac Rios. Zac creates compilation videos of varying topics ranging from “Why can’t dealerships sell their cars in 2026?”, to “HELP! My college degree is useless!” They are fun, bite-sized, internet junk food. But the takeaway I have is that there may be a whole generation of people who were not taught how to be curious.
Today, we have access to so much information about ANYTHING; and the barrier to that information is lower than it has ever been. In the past, if you wanted to do some research you had to physically go into your local/school library, find reference material, read the material yourself, summarize the readings, and determine what to do next. Looking at buying a car: you’d gather brochures, magazines, price sheets; tall stacks of material. It was real work. Now, there is the Internet, and even that felt like too much work, so now we have AI chatbots to do the thinking for us. But when I watch a Zac Rios compilation video, it’s person after person unaware of what ownership actually entails; the insurance on a home, the maintenance on a car.
I watched those videos judging people for not knowing ‘simple’ things, but I think the real issue is that people are not taught to be curious. A curious mind can might start with a simple prompt, “what do I need to know before buying my first home?”, or “what does it take to own a car?” So maybe before the next major purchase, spend five minutes asking: “What don’t I know I don’t know?”
The information is free. The ignorance costs everything.
Michael Montez 