How are we to understand viruses and their role in pathology? I predict that in the not-too-distant future, we will have a different understanding than we do today and that our current understanding is little more than a devil(demon) with a new dress on. The word virus is taken from the Latin word for poison. Literally, “slimy liquid poison.”

I predict that in the future, we will come to understand that what we call viruses will be better understood as something akin to snippets of code like those we use in programming our computers, which dictate how they function. Snippets of code that tell biological lifeforms how to function under various environmental conditions at any given point in time.

I predict that in the future, we will no longer entertain the idea that viruses can be passed from one person to another, resulting in various states of disease. Disease and acute expressions of it will be better understood as something more akin to an automobile that is never maintained or serviced. The human body is much like an automobile that begins its life functioning fabulously with a high level of ease. And if it is maintained properly, it can live on indefinitely. If not, it will begin to function poorly and eventually break down completely. Sound familiar? Know anyone whose body is broken down and functioning poorly? The cause is one and the same. Poor quality fuel and lack of scheduled maintenance.

I predict that in the future, if we do well, we will, on the whole, quit looking for causes outside of our control for what we call disease. We will move away from pharmaceuticals, realizing that they cannot make someone whole again. That pharmaceuticals are little more than bandaids on bulletholes. Instead of soft-peddling the role of personal responsibility, we will tell people the hard truths of what their life should look like if they want to maintain full functionality. That we would hold people responsible for what it means to be a fully and gainfully functioning human being rather than pushing pills to numb the pain resulting from poor choices that led them to a doctor in the first place.