>I guess books don't count and until the Internet people couldn't lear and read either.

How many farmers in Platos time had books published? How about the lifestyle and thoughts of midwest pioneers. How much time did they have for writing that column in the New York Times?

My point, until now, much of what we use to understand the general population only comes from a few self selected individuals. Our understanding of things just 200 years ago is probably only accurate with respect to the "top 5%" for lack of a better description.