While TLC has strayed a lot from its name, I also think there is unnecessary criticism going on here...
Even from shows like Cake Boss, there's plenty to learn. Now it may not exactly be -relevant- information, but there's all kinds of things to soak up; such as professional baking methods and food information. (I didn't know you could make a hardening gelatin-like substance out of sugar.) Even totally non-related, trivial things can be learned, like city locations, transport methods, voice accents, etc.
I you're not learning anything at all, you're just trying not to.
but yeah I agree that TLC isn't really the learning channel anymore, but if you swear you're not learning anything, that just seems like hogwash