[y66]

Rex Jung, of the Mind Research Network and Robert Sternberg of Tufts University discuss a scientific understanding of wisdom here.

I'm not sure if this is an example of wisdom or not but I saw a world class bridge player last night and his wife (also WC) kibbing a friend of theirs who happens to be his wife's regular partner. There they were, sitting together, seeming relaxed and enjoying the scene. And then he put his arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him and they sat there together like that for the rest of the session -- 3 boards at least!

Most definitely the best shoulder move I've ever seen.

[Phil]

Wisdom is nookie?

[luke warm]

i think wisdom is just another word for experience, although it doesn't have to be your own experience...

[jdonn]

luke warm, on Jul 23 2009, 05:09 PM, said:

i think wisdom is just another word for experience, although it doesn't have to be your own experience...

I think it means knowledge based on experience. I would definitely not call a person wise if he or she is old but also stupid.

[Fluffy]

can't you get wisdom from books?

[barmar]

Fluffy, on Jul 23 2009, 07:45 PM, said:

can't you get wisdom from books?

That's the experience of reading the books.

I think the difference is that knowledge can simply be facts. Wisdom is the knowledge of what best to do with that information.

Fire being hot is a fact. Knowing not to stick your hand in it is (very simple) wisdom.

[Al_U_Card]

Wisdom is the ability to transform perception into understanding.

[kenberg]

As we get older we no longer have the energy to do really stupid tings. We refer to this change as an increase in wisdom.

[Codo]

kenberg, on Jul 24 2009, 12:09 PM, said:

As we get older we no longer have the energy to do really stupid tings. We refer to this change as an increase in wisdom.

I hear your words but this is wishful thinking.

Many people are getting older but never wiser.

I think wisdom is the ability to make good decisions in the absence of sufficient information after caring to get all possible information.

Any GIB can make perfect decisions when he knows all hands. But just wise people can make more good decisions without knowing all facts.

[helene_t]

I like Barmar's and Ken's definitions.

Roland's definition is not what I understand by wisdom. A good decision based on intuition would be a good decision but it would not be a wise decision, I use the word. To me, wisdom is based on knowledge.

[Codo]

So wikipedia is wise? Or a double dummy solver is wise? Are you wise when you are able to solve the "Times" crossword puzzle?

I see a correlation between knowledge and wisdom, as it makes it surely easier to be wise when you know a lot.
But I have seen wise kids and stupid old man with a lot of knowledge, so there must be more to it then just knowledge.

[kenberg]

I meant my comment as half jest, half serious. My semi-serious claim is that what passes for wisdom as we age may really be lack of energy. Let me illustrate:

I have mentioned before that I bought my first car a little after my fifteenth birthday, a 47 Plymouth for $175 that often needed some work. I had replaced the pistone rings and rebuilt the carburetor and it was time to check it out. New rings make the engine stiff so the battery (my battery at that time) was not up for the job. Neal jumped in the car with me, Greg used his car to push mine over to a steep hill nearby, and I got up a good coasting speed, turned on the ignition, put it in gear and popped the clutch. The engine turned over, tried to start, but something was wrong. Eventually I realized I had neglected to put the needle valve back in the carb. It regulates the flow of gas. We had not yet put the hood back on, so Neal decided that he would be the needle valve to get the car back home. He sat on the fender with his finger in the carb regulating the flow while Greg used his car to push mine. The car started (not smoothly) and moved forward a bit but then there was a loud noise, a burst of flame, and the engine caught fire.

Not wise.

I don't do such things anymore so perhaps I am wiser. But I also have more money. I buy my cars new, I choose cars that need little maintenance (I have an Accord), if something needs doing I take it to the mechanic. When the car ages, I replace it. I was just in for an oil change and the guy asked "four or six cylinders" and I said "four, I think". Very embarrassing.

So my behavior is different but so are my circumstances. Wisdom? Or just more money and less energy?

[y66]

Kenberg's energy theory makes a lot of sense to me. My dog and I spent many hours hiking along the Potomac over his lifetime. As a pup, he'd take off after deer as soon as he spotted them and chase them for half a mile. As he got older, he'd hesitate, as if he were figuring out what it would cost him, then take off anyway. As he got even older, he learned to pretend he didn't even see them.

[Fluffy]

I have a problem with english, but if wisdom is what I think it is in spannish then:

Wisdom: the ability to solve a problem based on previous experience
Intelligence: the ability to solve a problem based on given facts (wit no prior experience)

[Al_U_Card]

Intelligence is the creation or movement of what is known to what is done.



Re Ken: Old enough to know better but young enough not to care....

[luke warm]

jdonn, on Jul 23 2009, 05:29 PM, said:

luke warm, on Jul 23 2009, 05:09 PM, said:

i think wisdom is just another word for experience, although it doesn't have to be your own experience...

I think it means knowledge based on experience. I would definitely not call a person wise if he or she is old but also stupid.

i guess i'd need to know what you mean by 'stupid', but if by stupid you mean a deficit of knowledge, i see no reason such a person can't be wise

[onoway]

Robert Sternberg defined wisdom in a way that made excellent sense to me. His definition includes a sense of ethics (which has been debated in the forums before but again, his use of the word resonates with me).

I think that wisdom includes the ability to see beyond the direct surface of events and how they immediately impact any one person or group. It allows a choice of how to react beyond the apparent immediate self interest of that person or group. I'm not at all sure that lack of energy as in Ken's and y66's examples actually consitute wisdom as such as much as just common sense and self preservation. Maybe common sense is wisdom to some degree?

For true wisdom, I think there has to be an innate intuition of some sort, which some people develop and others don't (or maybe they don't have it in the first place). So you can have a child showing wisdom and an older person none, on occassion. I certainly don't think that intelligence, knowlege or experience or even a combination of all of them confers wisdom automatically, and I'm not sure that any of them are necessarilly involved for a person to show wisdom at some point.

[Winstonm]

The wise do not respond to an ignorant post. Me? I'm too stupid to resist.