This is a great article, and mirrors the thinking of the PITAC report on computational science as well as the Microsoft Research report Towards 2020 Science. But how can we educate tomorrow's researchers to benefit from the tools provided by computer science?

The current semantic web seems to offer a technology too fragile to use on the global scale. The complexity of various classification and ontological schemes, work needed to provide the metadata etc. Also, semantic web seems to offer great opporturnities for spammers and other mischief makers. Now we already have comment and reference spamming, but semantic web (on the global scale) raises the possibilities enormously.

Excellent analysis of a situation which also is happening here in Finland. When I was young, I used to read library books only, with a voracious appetite, often one book or more per day.

But when I started my university studies I got interested in science fiction in English which was not well covered in the Finnish libraries. Thus I started visiting discount bookshops, secondhand book dealers etc. looking for cheap softcover editions.

Then came Amazon.com, where one could buy for a reasonable price practically any book you wanted. Nowadays I seldom go to the library, and instead use Amazon.co.uk and local bookstores.

Libraries here in Finland don't have quite the same level of funds they used to have. And my tastes have evolved towards non-fiction in English, and that is not in good supply at the Finnish libraries. Actually, I have been lucky to be able to write book reviews for magazines (about 100 reviews so far) and thus I also receive review copies from the publishers.

Today, I go to second-hand book dealers to purge the bookshelves of books which have lost their appeal to me. And in second-hand shops you find (occasionally) gems which are no longer available at bookstores.

Good point about critical vs. populistic reporting. However, it seems that many reporters and columnists start with a critical touch, but when they establish their position they tend to maintain it with populistic means, without presenting alternative viewpoints. The road goes from insight towards egocentricity?