I recently read in a health magazine that the carambola, or star fruit, has one of the highest concentrations of vitamin C. With the winter season fast upon us, I grabbed a handful of them at my local grocer and confidently paid for my exotic cure for winter maladies.

However, when it came time to enjoy the star fruit, I was at a loss on how to consume it. Do I eat the skin? How should I cut it?

I turned to the Internet, and About.com had the answers I sought—plus pictures for all 5 steps. In a matter of minutes I was enjoying my new star fruit.

After the star fruit was finished, I reflected on the path I chose.

I had two chances to ask for advice from another person. The first was at the grocery store where I could have asked a clerk. The second was to call my aunt, who served us star fruit on her Thanksgiving salad, for advice. Yet I opted for immediate feedback via the cold, indifferent Internet.

Is that wrong? Is the Internet truly replacing the verbal passing of knowledge from generation to generation? In this case, I doubt it. I doubt the produce clerk, or any clerk at my grocery, was familiar with preparing a star fruit. Since my aunt was at work, the question would have to wait until the evening when she returned home. And I wanted my star fruit now.

So what if I was influenced by a lifeless publication and sought the advice of the soulless Internet—at least I ate something healthy.