The American frontier myth of tough, pragmatic action, heroism, sacrifice and accomplishment is all-pervasive thanks to the myriad global media that emerges from the American self-image, and the net result is our adoption of everything from their work ethic to their trade policies.

Though easy to scoff that it’s only in America you’d find an industry lobby group for pizza chefs and pizzeria owners, awards from the Pizza Expo are world-renowned and not to be sniffed at.

The power to pluck knowledge, engage in commerce, seek inspiration or commit crime at the four corners of the globe is on a desk in virtually every home in the western world. Now everything’s connected to everything else, has the computer reached its nadir? Is earth now one giant supercomputer, eerily prophesised in Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series?