Everyone knows that the mid-to-late 1990s was a boom period and the new millennium is a bust. But what really happened? The prevailing attitude is that the so-called "new economy" was an abberation ... that it was a fluke and not sustainable.

Lately, a few "voices in the wilderness" are saying, "wait just a minute." Weren't the technology gains real? Didn't the internet and world wide web impact the entire world? Do we really need a war to have good economic times? Does the gap between the haves and have-nots have to widen?

The most visible of these voices is Michael Moore whose "Stupid White Men: And Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation!" is riding the book bestseller charts. His first chapter puts the questions quite succinctly and some of his suggestions in the later chapters may have merit.

Wired magazine also explores some of the prevailing wisdom and finds it wanting. The article is "The New Economy Was a Myth, Right? ... Wrong," by James Surowiecki and is certainly worth a read.

An equally persuasive view comes from Userland's John Robb, Dave Winer's associate. His web log post, "The New Economy," puts the focus on the individual and away from organizations.

Favorites: Probability Without Tears. * John F. Simon Jr.'s Every Icon * Law of Diminishing Returns * Patently Absurd * Sir Arthur C. Clarke * W. Daniel Hillis * Claude E. Shannon -2 * The New York Times * The Buckminster Fuller Institute * Chautauqua * LuLu Press * Dan Bricklin * William Dunk