This is a good article, but the title doesn't do it justice.

The point that stuck out for me:

Do you find yourself reading/watching/listening to things that leave you feeling a little smarter than you know you have any right to feel? Malcolm Gladwell, TED, etc? The author calls these "insight porn", and posits that they trigger some of the same pleasure centers as real learning.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it isn't a full replacement for the real thing, either.

I've often felt this, and been bothered by it, but haven't figured out an effective filter. Source is a good negative indicator (skip the Gladwell unless I'm feeling like powdered cheese), but there are lots of amateur gladwells out there too.

The real stuff is harder to locate, identify, and digest.

And honestly, sometimes the cheap alternatives have a greater ROI, since the investment is so much lower, and the return isn't quantified objectively.