The Geography of the Internet

Hello, my prize pupils! Today's lecture will be concerning a contemporary issue- one very near and dear to some of your hearts: Cyberspace. The Web. The Internet.

Many of you will recall United States Senator Ted Stevens, the Republican representative from Alaska, and his comments as to the nature of the Internet. He said, "It's not a big truck... it's a series of tubes." Many of you will be surprised to learn that this is, in fact, the true nature of the internet and not a poorly-chosen metaphor. Information is carried into your CPU (central processing unit) by microscopic aquatic organisms, guided unerringly through a complex matrix of tiny aqueducts.

Older versions of the Macintosh OS may respond poorly to broadband.

The physical geography of the internet has already been mapped out by the gentlemen of XKCD (an excellent webcomic). You can find the comprehensive map, carefully topographed onto a diner napkin, here. However, I present an alternative, more user-friendly map below. Please note that this illustration is not my own; it is used as a teaching aid by respected degree-giving institutions.

This was stolen from an information literacy course I took.

It may also surprise you to learn that the internet has both a beginning and an end, or that there are simultaneously creative and destructive properties at work within this invisible, invisible world made of fish. In short, the internet contains the sum of all human knowledge.

I'll leave you all to ponder that. Here's your homework for next class: Write a short song. We here at Roboshrub Inc. might pick the best one, embellish it and record it ourselves. The winner will then recieve the raw data files, to post at his or her own blog. It's like a contest! Like... American Idol!