What does a family line which has had uninterrupted, exclusive access to a personal library know?
I mean think about it--what is that family like? That family which has held on to the same chunk of physical space, with books and notebooks, for several generations.
"Equal footing in terms of ability to gain information", my ass!
My own toddler gets confused when he tries to describe his home--probably because he's moved three times in as many years.
I remember the encyclopedias I read as a child. But, I don't have them. I can't review them. I can't consult my notes, nor smell them and get connected to the concrete memory of the day I learned about phases of matter or dry cell batteries.
Those things are important. They change the slope of the playing field.