Literary lion cub

My 21-year-old, Christopher, is home from college for the summer, and just brimming with newfound knowledge. Makes me long for the days when he was stupid.
He mentioned some 19th century writer, Kate Chopin, that I'd never of.
"You kidding me, right?'' he said. "This writer is huge, important, and everybody knows her work!''
His mother hadn't heard of the writer either, but Chris was gentle with her.
On the other hand, he made it clear that the depth of my ignorance was shocking, so shocking that it seemed wrong somehow to even consider myself an educated human being.
I mentioned this to a colleague at work (who, by the way had also never heard of the writer) and she thought for a minute and said:
"I've certainly never been a father or a son, but I can imagine what it must like to be your kid. And when a son of yours finally knows something that you don't, it's got to be huge, like beating the old man at driveway basketball for the first time.''
OK. I'll let the kid have this one.