It doesn’t.

It takes time and effort to gain more knowledge. It has never been cheaper or more accessible to acquire knowledge than it is today.

To increase your intelligence, is another matter all together.

I would also add that damn near all of human information is free to be had on the internet for the low, low price of a monthly broadband bill. The real expense comes when you want a piece of paper that says you know all this that other people will take seriously.

While absolutely true. I would say it’s much harder to find today than ten years ago. The Internet as an information source is being degraded on a daily basis. The amount of misinformation, ads disguised as information, and AI slop is destroying your ability to find that information.