Occasional Flashes of Wisdom. Have you ever found yourself in the presence of a person who offers a practical solution to a thorny problem and thought to yourself, “Well, that was obvious. Why didn’t I think of it?” It’s not an uncommon phenomenon, especially if that person is older than fifty. And, if the person were younger, you might just say that she was wise beyond her years.
We use the word, wisdom, to convey all manner of things -- among them insight, respect and appreciation.
But what, exactly, is it?
For the gerontological neuroscientist, Dilip Jeste, wisdom is “a combination of emotional regulation, pragmatic decision-making, tolerance, self understanding, prosocial attitudes and behaviors, and a capacity for reflection.”
The psychologist, Todd Finnemore, says it even better: “Older brains are more diversely wired and use many more connections than younger ones, because we’ve made so many associations over the course of our lives.”
Among the most intriguing definitions is this, from the late Oxford don and philosopher Isaiah Berlin. “Wisdom is the knowledge on how things fit together, what can and cannot be achieved, how to achieve it and what hangs people up, all this without being able to explain why or how we did it.”
And finally, how true it is that we are “unable to explain why or how we did it.” It could be that we're unusually good at "thinking without thinking." In other words, we just know it when we see it.
We use the word, wisdom, to convey all manner of things -- among them insight, respect and appreciation.
But what, exactly, is it?
For the gerontological neuroscientist, Dilip Jeste, wisdom is “a combination of emotional regulation, pragmatic decision-making, tolerance, self understanding, prosocial attitudes and behaviors, and a capacity for reflection.”
The psychologist, Todd Finnemore, says it even better: “Older brains are more diversely wired and use many more connections than younger ones, because we’ve made so many associations over the course of our lives.”
Among the most intriguing definitions is this, from the late Oxford don and philosopher Isaiah Berlin. “Wisdom is the knowledge on how things fit together, what can and cannot be achieved, how to achieve it and what hangs people up, all this without being able to explain why or how we did it.”
- First, experienced persons know “how things fit together” — seeing the big picture and patterns and systems, as well as anticipating unintended consequences. We know intuitively how social entrepreneurs fit things together, to "make a map."
- Second, we know enough about human frailty to understand “what hangs people up," including the most powerful forces in any system that can gather behind the status quo. We know intuitively how social entrepreneurs "mind the gaps."
- Third, we “know what can and cannot be achieved and how to achieve it.” We've learned enough about time management to calculate how to get results, particularly how much pressure to apply depending on any given situation. We know intuitively how to "build an app."
And finally, how true it is that we are “unable to explain why or how we did it.” It could be that we're unusually good at "thinking without thinking." In other words, we just know it when we see it.