It's easier to add than to subtract. Raymond and Gideon will be feeling like they've lost access to knowledge, but doppel-Gideon will feel like he's gone blind. :/

Yeah. I suppose for this analogy it'd be like a coping mechanism not working anymore.

Both pairs are fish out of water for differing reasons. But it is easier and simpler to gain book knowledge than physical knowledge. Plus it's relatively less time-consuming, if you're a fast reader and there's no translations needed.

I wonder if that means that there's just dead-air - as in no magic -around doppel-Gideon and doppel-Raymond. Or could they eventually learn their new world's nature-based magic?