I should make myself clear: I don't deny change is and will be happening, just that most of it is not going to be as dramatic and overarching as the writers were predicting. I'm seeing a lot more change in degree than kind: we're switching over from "Get out the damn maps and see where we are", to "Get out the damn Blackberry and see where we are". It's a continuation of the change in being in contact that we saw from the first telephones. And I'm pretty damn sure that people are still going to manage to get lost even with constant communication and GPS locaters accurate to within centimeters. I have faith in humanity, you see.

As far as fact checking goes, I don't see that as all that big a deal, except to people who are really concerned with having facts immediately checked. Oh it will be useful, and people will find a lot of applications for it, but life changing? Even if it is a big change, that's still one limited area of life.

My contention is pretty simple: change will happen, but for the most part it will be gradual change, with occasional limited areas of more rapid change.