I'm not sure you really need an answer from others sir, but I still posted one on the face value of the question.

I have to ask. Is this really about reliance on the internet or is it about ignoring decades of experience?

@Steve I'm inclined to agree, this almost reads as a pride issue masked as an "internet sources" question.

@Steve I am not the author of the books he won't read, so no.

@max630 Did that exactly once. Obviously not to a solid state drive, but that's really tangential

@max630 For weak solder joints, the "reverse" thermal expansion of freezing a device temporarily causes better contacts. I've recovered data off a failed cell phone using the freezer technique; but, it comes with a long list of problems: relying on extremes of thermal expansion degrades the joints more rapidly, condensation on the board as it warms up, return to room temperature restores the failed solder joint. 90% of the time, if it isn't a throwaway afterwards, it's much better to use a rework station (but that's a lot more work).

"half of these things, I don't even know where to look." - that's bad.

@JoeStrazzere Yeah, I missed a good deal, being unable to work for 5 years

I'm not sure I really understand the problem here. Are you this colleague's boss? If not, why do you care where he gets his information? How reliant is "too reliant"? Most folks get quite a lot from online sources these days [cue The Workplace theme song...]

@JoeStrazzere Mentoring someone

To Tell Someone They’re Wrong, First Tell Them They’re Right - getpocket.com/explore/item/…

Do you tell him what makes these circumstances different from what they found online? Do you back up your claims in any way? While some people are too quick to believe questionable sources, or prove people wrong just so they can be right, I don't see any evidence that makes me believe they don't just have a healthy level of scepticism about what you have to say. Decades of experience might count for a lot, but it's still entirely possible to be wrong.

Do you believe that there is some "folk wisdom" that is legit, but no one has put it out on the internet yet? How comes? And why don't you write a blog post or reddit post about it then? And let the community judge. The folk wisdom is a lot more tested and vetted than a folk wisdom of some localized circle. You should always look for well-founded discussions on the internet and consider what they say. People shun and criticize wikipedia, but many articles there are far more reviewed and polished than any book on the subject.

You might want to ask a few people about this in real life.

OP complaining about people gettings answers on the internet....turns to the internet for answers ;)

Folk-wisdom is not a reliable source. While I tend to experiment when I receive dubious information, I can't blame your co-worker for not trusting "folk-wisdom" as a reliable source. Folk wisdom is as hit-and-miss as Reddit. It's the internet of days gone by.

If you have to freeze your harddrives it might be time to listen to the internet and get rid of that junk.

I am tempted to post a question on how to deal with an older coworker who is too reliant on books and outdated offline sources, just for fun.

What exactly are the "other information sources" you expect him to use? In the main post you say, "half of these things, I don't even know where to look". So it really sounds like the "other information sources" is code for "because I said so".

WRT PC World, presumably this article, that makes it clear the trick did work in the past even if it doesn't now. So the internet checking should have worked but at least one of you misread it perhaps? pcworld.com/article/3035017/…

It seems a little disrepectful for the junior dev to look up everything and challenge OP on it though. Seems like there's another issue at play here. Which wouldn't surprise me. Many junior devs have a chip on their shoulders. They see senior devs as rusty hacks who shouldn't be senior. That attitude alone is a problem that needs to be dealt with.