Dear Dr. Boli: Someone told me just recently that the Internet was a series of tubes. Is that true? I thought it was more like a giant fungus. —Sincerely, A Woman with a Master’s Degree in Computer Science.

Dear Madam: Neither one is quite correct. After having looked at Facebook, Pinterest, Movellas, WordPress.com, Blogger, and similar sites, any reasonable observer would be forced to conclude that the Internet is a great big wire-bound notebook with hearts and unicorns scribbled on it in ballpoint pen.