We would have been content to leave it there. Both of us were flabbergasted at this result. Then we began to notice things. Almost all the letters agreeing with Joy were written by folks with long titles after their names, like Chief Operating Officer, or Nobel Laureate. And we developed an hypothesis based upon our own experience on the Web.
Human progress is and always has been chaotic.
Since politics and religion depend heavily on stability, they do not respond well to change. Of course, new cultures always arise, so the net effect on humanity is negligible. Firms like Sun, who actually produced much of the technology that enabled the Internet, are now stuck with dealing with the results. Trying to make a buck on the Web is like trying to pull teeth from a tiger shark. Those with whom you are partnering abandon you, those employees upon whom you depend leave for greener pastures.