"This Is Getting Weird!"

Uh huh, and I love it too. I believe some wise folks may even have written books about it.

Speaking of which, I keep meaning to mention how important I think it is that legal professionals spend some quality time with Dr. Weinberger's book, Small Pieces Loosely Joined. When Cluetrain came out, and then Gonzo Marketing, I gave copies out like candy ("Trick or Treat!") so that we in the legal field could start to think about more effective ways of communicating with each other and the people who foot the bill for what we do. I'm doing the same now with Small Pieces for a different reason, one I mentioned in a more light-hearted vein earlier: we're the ones with all the litigation. As lawyers and courts shepherd more and more Internet-centric disputes through our darned-fine-but-less-than-perfect legal system, they will find their jobs made easier - and the quality of the emerging law improved - if they are informed by what Dr. Weinberger calls the "pineal" nature of the Web: a creation that is at no level pure technology, but instead is pervaded with "human intelligence - and more - down to its smallest building blocks." (p. 161) When disputes are viewed through the lens Dr. Weinberger supplies, the task of balancing equities toward a just and workable result is given a turbo-charged boost.