News:

Unnecessarily argumentative

Main Menu

your own wisdom thread. post wisdom from forum members

Started by billy rubin, March 05, 2021, 09:10:12 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

xSilverPhinx

Since there are so many smart, knowledgeable and wise people here I thought I'd bring this quote to be discussed. :grin:

I don't know if this counts as wisdom, but someone I consider to be relatively wise said something like, "Learning from your own mistakes doesn't make you wise, a truly wise person learns from the mistakes of others and does not make those same mistakes."

Even though people's circumstances may not always be the same, I always thought this was an interesting statement.
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


Randy

Here is something I learned when I lived in Germany:

You can lead a yak to water but you can't teach an old dog to make a silk purse out of a pig-in-a-poke.
"Maybe it's just a bunch of stuff that happens." -- Homer Simpson
"Some people focus on the destination. Atheists focus on the journey." -- Barry Goldberg

xSilverPhinx

Quote from: Randy on March 07, 2021, 01:15:48 AM
Here is something I learned when I lived in Germany:

You can lead a yak to water but you can't teach an old dog to make a silk purse out of a pig-in-a-poke.

What a colourful expression! :lol:
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


billy rubin

Quote from: xSilverPhinx on March 06, 2021, 07:27:42 PM
Since there are so many smart, knowledgeable and wise people here I thought I'd bring this quote to be discussed. :grin:

I don't know if this counts as wisdom, but someone I consider to be relatively wise said something like, "Learning from your own mistakes doesn't make you wise, a truly wise person learns from the mistakes of others and does not make those same mistakes."

Even though people's circumstances may not always be the same, I always thought this was an interesting statement.

what exactly is wisdom? i ask myself that question and don't really have an answer. back in my reductionist days i used to think that i could define wisdom as the abilty to derive correct answers on the basis of apparently insufficient data. but that reall y seems to describe intuition more than wisdom

wisdom seem associated more with human understanding and conduct that with general knowledge. you can say that knoledge allows me to predict the path of a rock thrown into the air at a certain angle, but it is wisdom that chooses the best way to tell someone that their father is dying.

so is wisdom just the capacity for displaying and utilizicng insight into human behavior? if so, i am clearly not very wise


"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

xSilverPhinx

Quote from: billy rubin on March 07, 2021, 01:45:36 AM
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on March 06, 2021, 07:27:42 PM
Since there are so many smart, knowledgeable and wise people here I thought I'd bring this quote to be discussed. :grin:

I don't know if this counts as wisdom, but someone I consider to be relatively wise said something like, "Learning from your own mistakes doesn't make you wise, a truly wise person learns from the mistakes of others and does not make those same mistakes."

Even though people's circumstances may not always be the same, I always thought this was an interesting statement.

what exactly is wisdom? i ask myself that question and don't really have an answer. back in my reductionist days i used to think that i could define wisdom as the abilty to derive correct answers on the basis of apparently insufficient data. but that reall y seems to describe intuition more than wisdom

wisdom seem associated more with human understanding and conduct that with general knowledge. you can say that knoledge allows me to predict the path of a rock thrown into the air at a certain angle, but it is wisdom that chooses the best way to tell someone that their father is dying.

so is wisdom just the capacity for displaying and utilizicng insight into human behavior? if so, i am clearly not very wise

One definition of wisdom I came across (but don't particularly like) is wisdom is crystallised intelligence. There are two basic types: fluid and crystallised intelligence. The first is based on stuff like mental processing power, reflex speed, memory, etc. and is more prevalent in young people. The second would be knowledge that draws on past experiences, and is associated with older people. While the first tends to decrease with age, whereas the second tends to increase as people get older.

But I don't know. It seems this definition is lacking. :notsure:

For one, what about someone who is said to be "wise beyond their years?" What would such a person be like? Would they display a higher IQ? A higher EQ? Probably, but not exclusively. Would they be more empathetic, would they have more diverse life experiences and know how to better deal with adversity? I don't know.

I think wisdom is one of those things that's difficult to define but you know it when you see it. I think. :notsure:   
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


Randy

Quote from: xSilverPhinx on March 07, 2021, 01:57:33 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on March 07, 2021, 01:45:36 AM
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on March 06, 2021, 07:27:42 PM
Since there are so many smart, knowledgeable and wise people here I thought I'd bring this quote to be discussed. :grin:

I don't know if this counts as wisdom, but someone I consider to be relatively wise said something like, "Learning from your own mistakes doesn't make you wise, a truly wise person learns from the mistakes of others and does not make those same mistakes."

Even though people's circumstances may not always be the same, I always thought this was an interesting statement.

what exactly is wisdom? i ask myself that question and don't really have an answer. back in my reductionist days i used to think that i could define wisdom as the abilty to derive correct answers on the basis of apparently insufficient data. but that reall y seems to describe intuition more than wisdom

wisdom seem associated more with human understanding and conduct that with general knowledge. you can say that knoledge allows me to predict the path of a rock thrown into the air at a certain angle, but it is wisdom that chooses the best way to tell someone that their father is dying.

so is wisdom just the capacity for displaying and utilizicng insight into human behavior? if so, i am clearly not very wise

One definition of wisdom I came across (but don't particularly like) is wisdom is crystallised intelligence. There are two basic types: fluid and crystallised intelligence. The first is based on stuff like mental processing power, reflex speed, memory, etc. and is more prevalent in young people. The second would be knowledge that draws on past experiences, and is associated with older people. While the first tends to decrease with age, whereas the second tends to increase as people get older.

But I don't know. It seems this definition is lacking. :notsure:

For one, what about someone who is said to be "wise beyond their years?" What would such a person be like? Would they display a higher IQ? A higher EQ? Probably, but not exclusively. Would they be more empathetic, would they have more diverse life experiences and know how to better deal with adversity? I don't know.

I think wisdom is one of those things that's difficult to define but you know it when you see it. I think. :notsure:   
I don't know if I can buy into that definition. It sounds too simple. Wisdom generally comes with age supposedly but children can be taught some wisdom. I just think it is more complex to define than this.
"Maybe it's just a bunch of stuff that happens." -- Homer Simpson
"Some people focus on the destination. Atheists focus on the journey." -- Barry Goldberg

billy rubin

sometimes children are a great deal wiser than their parents, because they cut through the cluttler.

the story of th eemperor who had no clothes comes to mind.

and sometimes adults have no wisdom at all, no matter how much they have experienced. i am thinking here of the person who has twenty years of experience somewhere, except that it amounts to one year of experience repeated twenty times.


"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

Randy

Quote from: billy rubin on March 07, 2021, 04:58:19 PM
sometimes children are a great deal wiser than their parents, because they cut through the cluttler.

the story of th eemperor who had no clothes comes to mind.

and sometimes adults have no wisdom at all, no matter how much they have experienced. i am thinking here of the person who has twenty years of experience somewhere, except that it amounts to one year of experience repeated twenty times.
I'm thinking that happens more often than not.
"Maybe it's just a bunch of stuff that happens." -- Homer Simpson
"Some people focus on the destination. Atheists focus on the journey." -- Barry Goldberg

Icarus

Wisdom, or absence of it, can be thought of as the manner of judgement or analyses of some subject or situation.  Assessment of some other persons wisdom is subjective at best. It is not easy to get into another persons head no matter how well we believe that we know them.

Here is a rather lengthy article about brain functions of genius level people and how so many of them have been subject to mental disturbances. How not why. This a good read if such stuff is of interest to you.  It has been noted that genius does not imply wisdom.

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/secrets-of-the-creative-brain?utm_source=pocket-newtab


xSilverPhinx

I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


Randy

"Maybe it's just a bunch of stuff that happens." -- Homer Simpson
"Some people focus on the destination. Atheists focus on the journey." -- Barry Goldberg

Ecurb Noselrub

My advice for a young man marrying a young woman:  What she's like on the outside is not what she's like on the inside.

My advice for a young woman marrying a young man:  You can't change a pig, no matter how hard you try.

Tank

If you wouldn't marry her mother don't marry her.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Randy

Pay attention to your date at a restaurant. How do they treat the staff that waits on them? It's a good indication of the true personality.
"Maybe it's just a bunch of stuff that happens." -- Homer Simpson
"Some people focus on the destination. Atheists focus on the journey." -- Barry Goldberg

Ecurb Noselrub

Quote from: Tank on March 08, 2021, 04:47:58 PM
If you wouldn't marry her mother don't marry her.

And that, my friends, brings an end to the institution of marriage.