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Since time is relative and inherently connected to matter and energy, what is news for me may not be news for you. Luckily this effect is negligible due to the nature and magnitude of relativistic speeds as well as the fact that we both reside on the same planet. However, the newness of news is subjective and often ill-defined except in extraordinary systems of thinking, such as certain scholarly circles. Of course, mainstream culture does not fit well with the requirements of these realms; any chemical engineer can think like an average American, but not every average American can think like a chemical engineer. This alludes to the interesting notion that the epistomological aspect is just as important as the knowledge itself in reference to any given career type. What separates these portions of society is access to knowledge of both facts and conventions (a great word to describe a given episteme). It may be quite possible to find all the knowledge required to be a competent commercial jet mechanic on the internet, but is it possible to learn all of the conventions? Perhaps when such learning becomes more feasible, formal education as a national institution will cease to exist. This would require an unprecedented degree of access to reliable information by even the least computer-adept person in society, however. Fortunately, due to the free market society in which we currently reside, every single financial class in America has undergone steady real (non-inflated) growth in purchasing power, allowing more access to goods and services across the board (including the latest technologies). This increase in access is actually quite observable in today's society; take a look at the iPhone replacing the PDA, mp3 player, and cell phone all at once. The USB is now a historical example, as computers used to have separate ports for different external hardware. Ease of access is the name of the game, but the systems by which such a condition is accomplished will likely become much more complicated. Does this mean that America as a whole will become more comfortable, have more access to goods and services, become more productive without having to work longer or harder, and live longer with increased vitality? Yes. Is this a new idea? No, of course it isn't; such a dream was exceptionally popular during the scientific revolution of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. What does that mean?

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