Wisdom More Than Knowledge

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Merriam Webster defines knowledge as:

2 a (1): the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association

Merriam Webster defines wisdom as:

1 a: accumulated philosophic or scientific learning

Wisdom is the judicious and purposeful application of knowledge that is valued in society. Knowledge is learning and retaining information. Wisdom is taking action on that information to better yourself and passing it along to others.

Fools know everything and wise men know nothing. I love this saying. It is very true. Wise men are in a constant state of individual growth. Fools who think they know it all never grow because they are stuck on what they currently know and refuse to seek more. They tend to base their information on hearsay and not actual facts.

My philosophy is, once you stop learning, consider yourself dead. I read this a while back and never forgot it. Life is a constant learning experience. If you stop, you will be in this current posistion for the rest of your life. This is where the complaining begins and never ends until you decide to change your ways.

Psychologists have gathered data on commonly held beliefs or folk theories about wisdom.[1]These analyses indicate that although "there is an overlap of the implicit theory of wisdom with intelligence, perceptiveness, spirituality and shrewdness, it is evident that wisdom is a distinct term and not a composite of other terms."[2]

1. ^Sternberg, R. J. (1985). Implicit theories of intelligence, creativity, and wisdom. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 607-62.

2. ^ Brown, S. C., & Greene, J. A. (2006). The Wisdom Development Scale: Translating the conceptual to the concrete. Journal of College Student Development, 47, 1-19.

One of my favorite quotes is:

The great end of life is not knowledge but action. -Thomas H. Huxley

Read that again!! I interpret it as - Action taken is wisdom at work! You grow and the people around you grow. You are taking knowledge and putting it to use.

Be Wise!

Tony