Similar to other professions, academia is beleaguered by competition and deadlines, and as I hear the fervent clattering emanating from my neighbour’s office, I cannot help but quake at my misspent time bantering on Messenger and reading the news.

Yet a single peep into their office reassures me: far from ten noses to the grindstone, there are four watching television, two on Facebook, one on IM and a further two perusing the news.

The internet then, with all its trappings is merely a double-edged sword: just as it provides knowledge beyond the comparatively meagre holdings of our library, so too does it furnish us with a wonderful world of escapism, procrastination and temptation.

Long live the internet, restorer of sanity, plenisher of bookshelves and maker of much mirth…