Music execs are still reeling from Radiohead’s figurative finger in their proverbial eye—essentially an industry end-run that lets listeners decide how much they want to pay for the band’s new release. The reasoning is sound. At the end of the day, the band will make as much, if not more, than what they would have pocketed had they trusted distribution to a major label.

Similarly, UC Berkeley has just put a free fall course catalog online as well—hundreds of lectures hosted on YouTube and ready for everyone’s edification. MIT also offers up free courses, giving anyone with online access the opportunity to indulge in their own Good Will Hunting moment. No tuition required.

Check out Physics for Future Presidents:

The quality of content available online runs the gamut from sublime to ridiculous, and while traditionalist critics are quick to claim that online outlets simply give hacks a larger audience, the Web is also clearly evolving into a great leveler—a means of education and entertainment courtesy of well-respected players who want people to experience their products and services. It’s an investment in awareness that offers tremendous benefits to Web citizenry and payback in visibility and credibility for purveyors.