In our technological age, seekers of enlightenment no longer need to embark on wearisome trips to distant sources of information. They don t even have to go to their local libraries. Bookstores, newsstands, magazine racks, theaters, temples, and churches even bo trees have their virtual equivalents. Students surf into electronic encyclopedias. Professors put their lecture notes up on the Web.
Retailers put catalogs and order forms online.
Stock markets speed quotes electronically to the screens of traders. Mindwork no longer demands legwork. Commerce isn t impeded by distance. Community doesn t have to depend on propinquity. Links among people are formed in hitherto unimaginable ways.