I think even great programmers who get solid on-the-job training doing a startup job will have major gaps as they progress. There is something to be said for learning fundamentals.
Give a kid access to computer and Internet, and he will find his way out. This was experimented with kids in Indian slums, who never went to school and can not even read/write.
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/india/thestory.htm...
I know it is, because this well educated populace doesn't exist and yet the Internet does.
I submit to you that there is very little you need to use the Internet to learn and I also submit that by your reasoning about how easy it is for people to learn then if if they were to purchase physical books, all they would need would be the "canon" of Penguin Press books. But yet people have never done this en masse or even in any significant other than ... wait for it .. outliers. :)
So, basically, the whole view is just one big unproven naked assertion.
> How are kids that can't read going
A picture is worth a thousand words.
I agree, basic schooling is very important; there is no replacement for it. College / University education is nice to have, but it is not must.
Additionally, a great teacher makes you learn things a lot quicker than you'd learn them yourself, because of the insights he can give you.
Oh and btw, I've found textbooks to be infinitely more useful than the internet.