The Internet Is a Major Driver of the Growth of Cognitive Inequality

I suspect someone is confusing causes and consequences here.

Ignorance prevents people from knowing the question to ask, but that's ultimately a social ill (cf. school abandonment, low-income, only similar acquaintances, etc.) that tends to perpetuate itself.

One can make the case that without the right intellectual stimuli a person can actually become dumber over time, but that predates the Internet.