Education will still be needed. People equate knowledge and skill to ability, but that is not the real case. Most people know how to use a pencil, they have that "skill", but can they do an artistic rendering of a scene in nature? or a pencil portrait of a person or cat or dog? They have the skill to use the pencil, they have the knowledge uploaded as to how to structure a picture, what needs to be done and how to do it. All that information is currently readily available on the internet and as far as drawing that has been available in comic book advertisements of "Learn to draw" so and so. I can look and find all that information knowledge and skill building exercise, I would still not be an Artist.
The practical side then. most people know how to use a hammer and saw. Some of even know how to read a blue print, does that mean I can build a modern house? Possible, it would take a lot of time to do so however. There is a lot more to building a house then using a hammer and a saw.
Yes, I can see the plug in and learn ability becoming something, however there will always be a need for education and for teachers. Just as there are even in this day and age places, peoples, and cultures that some people have never heard of, if you do not know something is out there, how do you find it? I find new stuff, people, places, cultures and areas I have never heard of everyday on the steem blockchain.
Then there is the issue of just how much information can a human brain hold, recall, and use. At what point do we have to delete information to make room for new information?
Me I am all for downloading direct, I think it is a wonderful concept, it may even work for some skill sets. If it involves having to pay for it, then it will never be a viable education system, more of a control system. The haves will have even more, and the have nots will always have nothing.
Information that is to be downloaded into the brain can always be altered, because someone has to input the initial information.
I totally agree with "if you do not know something is out there, how do you find it" and hence some form of education and so teachers will be needed. Also, ethics and moralities are something that might not be as simple as just an upload and so parents/teachers will be needed to teach these in the conventional way.
I don't know about how much the brain can handle. Apparently there are trillions of neurons, so I assume the capacity there is really huge.
I do not agree with "People equate knowledge and skill to ability, but that is not the real case". The definition of 'skill' is ... "the ability to do something". So, looking at your example, let's say if such a technology is developed some day, then we will not only be able to 'learn to use a pencil' but we will also learn to 'do an artistic rendering of a scene in nature'. Let's take the example of the Matrix movie. Neo already knew how to use his hands and legs, but when the martial arts skill was uploaded, he was able to use those hands and legs in a way that an expert martial artist does.
I think that in the future world, there will be a market place of skills, just like how there are marketplaces for smartphones, and we could simply choose what skills we want, pay for it, and have it uploaded. Of course, we wouldn't want those skills available on the market that can potentially make a person harmful to the society.
I love your thoughts on this. They made me think deeper. :))