Saturday, January 26, 2002

 

Saint Google?

No, no, no. The patron saint of the Internet won't be Saint Google. According to this story at Wired, the church's leading candidate is Saint Isidore of Seville, who was best known for his massive, 20-volume Etymologiae, ­an attempt at compiling all the world's knowledge, covering grammar, medicine, law, geography, agriculture, theology, cooking and all points between.

Do we really need a patron saint of the Internet. Well, I'm sure my mom will be happy about it. The woman is very close to sainthood herself. I just know that now before she presses the power button on her WebTV (her computer, as she calls it) she'll be asking Saint Isidore to pray for her. Pray that she doesn't get lost and wind up at some porn site? Maybe. Pray that she has e-mail from one of her three children? Possibly. Pray that she gets all the answers right on her favorite on-line trivia game? Could be.

Somehow, I don't see the people running all the porn sites buying into this patron saint business. I'm sure all the spammers and people who flame guestbooks aren't going to think much of it either. But, as Vinton Cerf, the WorldCom executive widely credited as "the father of the Internet," said "Considering all the challenges facing the Internet, having a patron saint doesn't sound like a bad idea."

He's probably right. It couldn't hurt.

posted by Anne 1/26/2002 02:22:00 PM