What is Visionary?
Defined broadly, a '''visionary''', is one who can envision the future. For some groups, this can involve the [[supernatural]] or use of mind-altering drugs. A visionary state can be achieved via [[meditation]], [[drug]]s, [[lucid dream]]s, [[daydream]]s, or [[art]]. One example is [[Hildegard of Bingen]], a 12th century artist/visionary and [[Catholic]] [[saint]].<ref>[http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/247.html Hildegard of Bingen, Visionary]</ref> Other visionaries in religion are [[Mohammed]] (who had a vision of and communed with the [[Angel Gabriel]]), [[St. Bernadette]] (who had a vision of contact with the [[Blessed Virgin]]), and [[Joseph Smith]] (who had a vision of contact with the [[Angel Moroni]]). == Extended meanings == A ''vision'' can be political, religious, environmental, social, or technological in nature. By extension, a ''visionary'' can also be a person with a clear, distinctive and specific (in some details) vision of the future, usually connected with advances in [[technology]] or social/political arrangements. For example, [[Ted Nelson]] or U.S. Vice President [[Al Gore]] is referred to as a visionary in connection with the [[Internet]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1581891.stm BBC News | SCI/TECH | Visionary lays into the web]</ref> Other visionaries simply imagine what does not yet exist but might some day, as some forms of ''visioning'' (or gazing) can provide a glimpse into the possible future. Therefore, visioning can mean seeing in a [[utopian]] way what does not yet exist on earth, but might exist in another realm, such as the [[ideal]] or perfect realm as imagined or thought. Examples are [[Buckminster Fuller]] in [[architecture]] and [[design]], and some of the pioneers of [[personal computer|personal computing]] such as [[Steve Wozniak]]. Some people use [[mathematics]] to make visionary discoveries in the nature of the [[universe]]. In that sense, a visionary may also function as a secular [[prophet]]. Some visionaries emphasize [[communication]],