Black Swan

These are exciting times on the River Kent, which runs through Kendal and right past our offices. Last year a family of otters took up residence and now we have acquired a black swan.

The term black swan is one that I use from time to time, not to talk about Australian wildlife as such but with regard to black swan theory. This concerns events that couldn't have been foreseen but which have a huge effect on the environment into which they arrive.

So, for example, while the internet could have been predicted - and, indeed, was by the likes of Arthur C Clarke - no one saw the world web coming or its impact on all our lives.

I'm sure Tim Berners-Lee, the man who pretty much invented the www - had no idea what he was unleashing. More than anything, though, I always think it's a bit mind-boggling to remember that he was the first person to post a picture onto the web, which, according to Wikipedia, was a photo of the CERN house band 'Les Horribles Cernettes'.