Crystal ball

"I can't even guess what the price of fuel oil will be this season," says the fuel oil seller, "I don't have a crystal ball." "I can't tell you whether your portfolio will grow," says the investment manager, "because I don't have a crystal ball." "I can't say for certain if the chemotherapy regimen will be effective at this point in your treatment," warns the oncologist, "since I can't look in a crystal ball." "I'm sorry to say," says the hospice chaplin, "that I don't know how long the dying process is likely to take, because I don't have a crystal ball." Would a crystal ball really help to answer any of these questions, and if so, why not acquire one? I see crystal balls advertised in various catalogs and at garden stores. They're not very expensive either.