A skinhead at the ballet, a classical-mu-sic buff at a lower-league football match, Oprah Winfrey recommending Tolstoy. The age of mass intelligence is upon us; the distinction between high and low culture is withering fast. Far from dumbing down, people are wising up. And the apparent contradiction between enjoying opera and a dose of reality television has broken down for good.rnMuseum admissions, literary festivals and decent tv such as "The Wire" are all indicators of a culture boom. At the root of this growing taste for high art alongside an enduring thirst for baser pleasures is edu-rncation rather than class or money. More people are going to university and today's graduates are cultural omnivores willing to hoover up experiences, both clever and daft, that are laid out before them.rnRead about mass intelligence and other fascinating snippets from across the cultural spectrum at the freshly designed website of Intelligent Life, our sister magazine dedicated to the world beyond work. Then surf the net for the latest celebrity gossip, or head for an art gallery.
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