I came across this quote, credited to Montaigne (although he used the term “men”). I think it speaks to the value of experience and self-discovery. But I’m not sure if it is true or profound. So what do you think?
It’s an aphorism. Aphorisms can be true (of “truthy”), profound (or pseudo-profound), and witty.
“Diplomacy is saying ‘nice doggy’ while you’re looking for a rock.”
(And they don’t even have to be accurately attributed, like the quote above that everyone thinks Will Rogers said.)
I think the OP quote is not true. Lots of us feel a bit safer just doing what everybody else does. While I think just saying it as I did makes it easy to deplore, because people don’t think for themselves etc etc. But this is a way of using other people’s wisdom. We may not know exactly why people don’t do a thing, but may be cautious by also not doing it, rather than being driven by our own wisdom. Likewise, why people do a thing, and us doing it too.
In fact I think this is an important contributor to the way we make our major decisions, like going to school, starting a family, buying a house, and so forth.
There was a pretty little parody of some major standardized test a while back that included the instruction “DO NOT OPEN YOUR BOOK UNTIL EVERYBODY ELSE DOES” that captures this nicely.
I can take advice from those who have more experience than I have. That’s using other’s wisdom.
I agree, but it requires some wisdom of your own to know when to seek advice and whose advice to take.
IMHO, it means that wisdom comes at a deeper level that knowledge.
Using a sports analogy: You can study everything that Tom Brady studies - all the film, all the X’s and O’s, etc. You can make a science out of it, learn everything there is about quarterbacking.
But ultimately, when you take the snap in an NFL game, you don’t have Brady’s intuition, gut instinct, brain or whatnot. You can imitate Brady on the surface, but without an actual Brady brain, it’s just surface copying.
As a result, you’re not likely to play anywhere near Brady’s level, even if you studied everything Brady did.
Same with being a true public speaker, concert pianist, or actor. You can imitate everything on the surface but still not be the same.
I would say that knowledge is something that almost everyone would agree on, basically known facts.
You can find it in reference books or by consulting experts in a given field.
Wisdom is a much slipperier concept.
As another aphorism goes, knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit - but wisdom is knowing not to use it in a fruit salad.
Another take on the OP:
“Smart people learn from their mistakes. Wise people also learn from other people’s mistakes.”
I’ve heard it in D&D terms: Intelligence is knowing that smoking is bad for your health, Wisdom is not smoking.
Paraphrasing because I don’t remember the original quote:
Lots of people also ask themselves, in a difficult situation, “What would so-and-so do?”, referring to someone else they know or know of who is wise. And asking that question of oneself doesn’t always work… but sometimes it does.
I take a more cynical stance – the difference between “wisdom” and “knowledge” is how your are supposed to feel about its possessor. Things high-falutin’ city boys with their fancy degrees know is “knowledge”. Things down-home folksy people know is “wisdom”.
The iconic example is Dex’s diner in Star Wars Episode 2. The fancy Jedi analysis droids couldn’t identify a thing. The line cook at the diner can, and specifically says that it is because of “wisdom vs knowledge”.
There’s a related, I think Talmudic, insult: “he is a bookcase not a scholar.” Wisdom is not memorized facts.
But agree that we can and do use the wisdom of others all the time. Just as much as we use their knowledge. Maybe more.
For both knowing what ask, who to ask it of, and who to believe, are key skills.
The aphorism seems a bit trite to me.
My friend and I have a saying “Insight is not transferable”. It means when you suddenly realise something, you cannot convey that same spark of understanding to anyone else. You can tell them what you learned, you can describe the situation that gave rise to it, you can give them the facts and the theory, but they will not understand it in the same way. The OP’s phrase reminds me of that.
Or, in other words (and I use this one at work occasionally): “I can explain it to you again, but I can’t understand it for you.”
When I studied Information Management, I was introduced to the hierarchy
Data < Information < Knowledge < Wisdom
There’s some additional analysis/processing/reflection at each step (though it’s always arguable as to precisely where and when each step occurs in any given situation).
Of course you can use the product or follow the example of someone else’s wisdom - but it may not be wise in your situation - that’s where your own wisdom comes into it. Or not.
I dunno.
Sometimes the problem is that the ability to understand isn’t there, true. That’s not never. But more often I see that as a rationalization made to excuse inadequate communication skills. It’s saying out loud that others are too dumb to understand you. And most of the time when people say that, well, the problem … isn’t that.
Sometimes I experience those with exceptional ability to explain, who comprehend well enough both the ideas and how others think that they are able to spark insight in those others, and usually they happen to be the people with the most wisdom. Or at least a certain sort of wisdom.
What do you think about this?
“Wisdom isn’t about knowing about physics or geography. Wisdom is about knowing about people. Wisdom is the ability to see deeply who people are…. I used to have a conventional view of wisdom.
The wise person is not the lofty sage who doles out life-altering advice in the manner of Yoda, Dumbledore or Solomon. The wise person [who I thought] knows how to solve your problems, knows what job you should take, can tell you whether or not you should marry the person you are dating. We’re attracted to this version of wisdom because we all want easy answers….
I’ve come to believe that wise people don’t tell us what to do; they start by witnessing our story… wise people don’t tell you what to do; they help you process your own thoughts and emotions until your own obvious solution emerges into view…. the knowledge that results is personal and contextual, not a generalization….
We all know people who are smart. But that doesn’t mean they are wise. Understanding and wisdom come from surviving the pitfalls of life, thriving in life, having wide and deep contact with other people. Out of your own moments of suffering, struggle, friendship, intimacy and joy comes a compassionate awareness of how other people feel - their frailty, their confusion and their courage. The wise are those who have lived full and varied lives and reflected deeply on what they’ve been through.”
~ David Brooks, *How to Know A Person *
It’d be very interesting to ask a whole bunch of very popular, respected, successful public speakers, concert pianists, and actors about this. I bet many of them would say it’s more that they keep trying and hope you like what they do and are happy if you do, and that they’re human. I bet many of them would resist the idea that they are “true” whatevers, and say instead that they’re like the rest of us.