The Shortcut to Enlightenment?

I have always been a very curious person. When I feel like I am out of the loop on something, I have a compulsive need to educate myself on the matter. For most things, I do not immediately delve into the deep, dark domain of decidedly detailed data.

(...might have gone a little overboard with the alliteration there.)

I am typically looking for more of a surface understanding. My most useful tool? The internet. Some days, my best friends turn out to be Wikipedia, IMDB, Acronym Finder, Amazon, Snopes, YouTube, Dictionary.com, and (of course) the almighty Google.

Here is a very incomplete list of things that I regularly search the internet for information on:

• Seemingly topical allusions/references I do not understand
• Song lyrics I can't quite figure out
• Status messages that seem like they might have a double meaning
• Apparently common conversation topics that I am unacquainted with
• Definitions of words I don't know
• Summaries of books I think I should know
• Jokes on TV I don't grasp
• Actors I recognize but can't place
• Current political events I have no actual knowledge of (but that keep popping up in discussion)
• Internet memes I have encountered but do not "get"
• Relative locations of places on maps
  

When I identify something I'm unfamiliar with, it niggles in the back of my mind until I can solve the puzzle. (niggles: 3rd person singular present (v.) 1. Cause slight but persistent annoyance, discomfort, or anxiety.)

So I look it up. I satisfy my urge to be in the know. I figure out the lay of the land before engaging in conversation on the topic. A quick internet search tends to give me a decent overview of the situation, allowing me the confidence to discuss things and feel like I am doing so in an intelligent manner.

I don't think there is a problem with educating myself. But what about when it comes down to discussing things with other people? Could my constant and instantaneous internet searches be construed as... cheating? Taking the shortcut to enlightenment? Am I misrepresenting myself to my peers by bandying about ill-gotten facts as though I am an expert on the subject?

I desperately want to appear intelligent and well informed when I talk to people. If you bring up a book I've never heard of, there is a fifty percent chance I will have it's Wikipedia entry open in 2 seconds flat. In fact, here is an example of a time when I did exactly that...

[A conversation I had in 2006, where I come clean about my internet search tendencies, mid-deception.]

Bonnie: We read Crying of Lot 49.
One of my least favorite books ever.
Me: Ah, the muted horn.
So deep.
Bonnie: Out of all the books we read this semester the one I truly sincerely hated.
Muted horn!
Holly, I am impressed by your knowledge of books you have never read.
Me: What's to hate about world wide conspiracy theories?
Bonnie: I don't know. It's a mystery.
Me: (You do realize I'm reading the Wikipedia article, and do not know such information off the top of my head? Though I am tempted to let you think I do.)
Bonnie: Wow.
I feel sheepish.
You were looking at Wikipedia the whole time and here I thought you were just brilliant!
I stand corrected.
Me: Now I'm sorry I corrected you. I like when people think I'm smart.
Bonnie: lol

A different friend of mine was recently telling me that she dislikes when I Google things while chatting with her. Once I am armed with the knowledge of the internet, I feel more comfortable talking about things authoritatively. This is a favorite past time of mine. But apparently, she feels like I am talking down to her.

And I'm not sure what to do with that. Obviously it's okay to let someone else be the expert sometimes. But... does that mean I should stop the searches? Can't I learn more from the broad spectrum of opinions that the internet has to offer than I can from hearing one single viewpoint?

So should I keep doing the searches but keep my findings to myself? Should I just cut them down to a more appropriate level? Or do I need to stop all together so I can live my own life and think my own thoughts?

I'm really not sure what the answer is here. Maybe I'll go ask Google.