When you see the faces of true zealots – people with complete faith in their particular point of view, what you see is a glow of energy that comes not from spiritual development, but from the fact that they experience a sense of certainty, free of confusion. They are like a man in a forest. He has no idea where he is, but he sets up a campsite in a little clearing, builds a fire, draws a map of the immediate area and feels better because he’s created the illusion of order, even though he should know he is absolutely lost…If you look throughout history, you see the same questions asked over and over again…but the answers are forever changing. You can be certain that today’s answers will be replaced by tomorrow’s, and so on until eternity. The only thing that doesn’t change is the questions. The questions will always be there. They’re the only thing you can count on.

Answers are for people who don’t have the courage to live with questions.

There may be a day when a simple non-invasive test will reveal what your next 24 hours of nutrition should ideally consist of. The android that will probably be helping you run your life might ask you to pick from a menu of appropriate suggestions. It may even change the suggestions throughout the day as it monitors your bioreadings based on what hadn’t been planned for (that impromptu tennis match with Bill, for example). It might even be that the food we process in the future will somehow have the ability to change its properties to match the needs of the individual at the moment of consumption.

The fantastic has always preceded reality. Our greatest accomplishments have come about because some wide-eyed dreamers shared their ideas with the rest of us, and some very bright practical types out there in the audience got it in their heads that they could figure out a way to make those ideas work.

In the meantime, while we’re waiting, like LCC said, we’re going to have to think a little harder, read a little more, try to understand a little better, and be more conscious of our choices and how they’re affecting us. At least until the android comes along.