Monday, February 01, 2021

KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM



When your last parent dies as
mine did six weeks ago, you become, like it or not, part of the elder generation. If you have children and grandchildren, they look to you for wisdom. And what is that? It’s part intelligence, part experience, part humility — the product of living many years, making many mistakes, and learning — a little bit at least — from each one. It’s knowing your flaws. If you feel like you don’t have much wisdom, it’s a sign that you probably do.


Wisdom is quiet. It observes. It listens. It doesn’t speak until asked. It knows that telling people things they’re not ready to hear is counterproductive. That’s why Will Rogers said: “Never miss a good chance to shut up.” With young children, making an occasional observation is okay, as in: “I see this happening,” or “I see you doing that,” but avoid following up with advice unless you’re asked for some.


Even then, it would be best to answer by telling a story. It could be from your own history or part of someone else’s that contains insight. As a teacher I was charged with passing on designated slices of U.S. History to students. With a textbook, any literate person with attentive scholars could, theoretically, do that. Answering perceptive questions, however, requires broader knowledge than the textbook imparts. Offering different perspectives on historical events does too.



Some historical perspective is necessary for wisdom. It may only be of personal and family history with keen observation of a small community lived in during one lifetime. The same patterns can be detected in a small place as can be seen in the wider world over a longer time. No one, not even the most learned historian, knows it all. Will and Ariel Durant, a 20th century husband/wife team of historians wrote “The Story of Civilization” which ran to four million words in eleven volumes. They chronicled up to about the 1930s and had plans to extend the series, but they died.



I’m old enough to remember the buzz around publication of R. Buckminister Fuller’s book “Critical Path” in which he postulated that the sum total of all human knowledge gathered by the year 1 AD took fifteen centuries to double. Then it took only 250 years to double again, and only 50 years to double yet again. Now it takes only one or two years. “Knowledge is power,” said Francis Bacon. If he and Fuller were both right, humans have been getting very powerful very fast, but has there been a commensurate accumulation of wisdom?



Doesn’t seem like it from where I sit. Maybe it’s all around me but I lack sagacity to recognize it. If wisdom has been piling up it’s not disseminating, perhaps because too few people are disposed to take it in. I cannot recall the last time I tried looking up something on the worldwide web and didn’t find information about it. We can access knowledge on the internet, but what kind of alchemy is required to convert it to wisdom?



Some religious traditions indicate that wisdom can be divinely granted. In the Old Testament God told Solomon to ask for anything and he requested wisdom. Impressed, God then granted him other gifts. In the New Testament Book of James it says anyone may ask God for wisdom and get it. Other religions suggest it’s attained through meditation or reincarnation. The Old Testament’s Book of Wisdom, whose author is unknown, uses female pronouns when referring to it. Then he or she portrays wisdom as an amalgam of other virtues, especially humility.



So, when as a wise elder you’re asked a difficult, timeless question by a grandchild, it’s okay to humbly answer by saying: “I don’t know.”


13 comments:

Kafir said...

We humans have the intelligence to develop, engineer and program the Perserverance Rover to land on Mars this coming February 18th. Hopefully, it will be a successful mission. Yet, this past November we collectively didn’t have the wisdom to elect a president who will work in the best interest of our country.

CaptDMO said...

"Even then, it would be best to answer by telling a story."?
Once upon a time, there was a Greek Slave....
I STILL plagiarize Aesop's Fables , Brother's Grimm, with audiences of ALL ages.
IMHO, 2500+ years and the same truisms of human nature are still just as valid,
all without need for "Latest Humanities experts may have discovered..."
(I include Psychology ,economics, and PoliSci, with Humanities)

Peter said...

This column had some nice words of wisdom. This column, in describing wisdom, shows Donald Trump to be the antithesis of a person with wisdom.

Humility? We can all agree that Trump has none.

Making many mistakes, and learning from them? He will not admit to making any.

Knowing your flaws? He will not admit he has any.

“Wisdom is quiet. It doesn’t speak until asked. It knows that telling people things they’re not ready to hear is counterproductive.” We can all agree that is the polar opposite of Trump. 

A willingness to say “I don’t know.”? How often do you hear those words from Trump?

I was curious, so I just Googled “opposite of wisdom”, and sure enough it described Trump:

Obtuseness. Imbecility. Irrationality. Recklessness. Unreasonableness. Lunacy.

Thank goodness these qualities are out of the White House.

Kafir said...

Peter, if you really believe that Trump is less competent than the puppet, JoeBama, or Kommie Harris, then it is YOU who has some serious issues. Thus far, JoeBama has signed over 40 executive orders, proclamations, memoranda, requests and directives that are very harmful to the country....except if you and his supporters want to destroy America as we know it.

At one point JoeBama is heard saying, "I don't know what I'm signing" and then his handler chimes in, "Sign it anyway." That's YOUR president, not mine.

See this list:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/all-of-president-bidens-key-executive-orders-in-one-chart-2021-01-21

Jared James Bristol said...

Well Peter, "Will Rogers said: “Never miss a good chance to shut up.” " Do you not realize your are standing against the collective ire of more than half the country? Trump bashing is old news, but it's all you've got. How about looking at the wisdom of electing (fraudulently) a demented old shell of a man and his 100% Marxist replacement? Among his first acts of power he decimates our energy sector. Good luck at the pump and heating your home. Trump is a bombastic, egotistical fighter. For America. And he did more for this country world-wide in 4 years of constant torment than virtually any president before him. See any Hannity show for the list of his accomplishmkents. Wisdom, sir. Prove me wrong.

Peter said...

Kafir, it will take some years to determine the competency of Joe Biden, but the last four years clearly showed that Trump lacked the qualities described in Tom's column, the qualities of wisdom. I'm not sure which of Biden's executive orders you most disagree with, but it is unlikely that many people agree with all 40 of them.

As to the video with Biden supposedly saying "I don't know what I'm signing", there is no way to interpret what the mumbling under the mask is. It could just as easily be "I like what I'm signing". This is what Hany Farid, a professor in Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences said: "Biden definitely isn't saying, 'I don't know what I'm signing,' I believe that he is saying, 'I like what I'm signing here.'" Other experts who enhanced the audio in the video said they couldn't make out what Biden said, other than he used the word sign or signing.

And Jared, if I was standing up against the ire of more than half the country, then Trump would not have lost the election by over 7 million votes. And that was before the attempted coup, which cost Trump even more support. I agree that he is a bombastic, egotistical fighter. But he is not fighting for our country. He is fighting, as all egotistical people do, for himself, and his self only. Asking me to refer to the accomplishment list made by an outrageously partisan sycophant like Hannity is not helpful. I've looked the list over and seen lots of nonsense. What good or bad he did for the country is very subjective, but at least somebody who shows none of the qualities of wisdom that Tom mentioned is out of the White House.

Jared James Bristol said...

Yes, Peter, more than half. You'll see in 2022, but only if the State legislatures overturn the election fraud policies that just occurred, like mail in ballots, no signatures, or hackable machines. If not, you will get YOUR America, the Marxist version. There was no attempted coup. There were LEGAL challenges and a small riot perpetrated/incited by your people, BLM and Antifa, not that Trump fans didn't get into it. Finally...you get riot after riot all summer but we can't have one little one of our own? :^) How can you say he's not fighting for our country? True that he's not fighting for yours! I'm a Navy vet and he damn well fought for mine. You think his accomplishments are nonsense? Hmmm...low unemployment in every people group, superb revenues, low, low taxes, energy independence, our troops out of nearly every hot spot in the world and no new wars, our trade deficits the least in decades, the illegal immigration at all time lows (please note the word "illegal"), the border wall nearly done, the Mid-East the calmest in decades with new peaceful agreements with Arabs and Israel, the UN funding being picked up by countries that hitherto had not been paying their share, the military the strongest possibly ever, the stock market at all-time highs, the country in the best shape since the 50's and you say he did nothing? Get real. He was the most accomplished President of my lifetime. That is currently 75 years. Luckilly I'm not brain dead like Joey, at least yet.

Kafir said...

Peter, it appears you are attempting to gaslight me as to whether or not Biden actually said what he said. I could be wrong and Dr. Hany Farid could be right. However, Farid hangs his hat at UC Berkeley’s School of Information. That is automatically suspect. I could not find any info on him at a half dozen various counter-terrorism sites despite his affiliation with an organization called the “Counter Extremism Project”.

I did note he was quoted in articles published by USA, PBS and PolitiFact. He’s also “working with Facebook to detect fake news, images and videos.” None of that is of any comfort to me either. Farid may be a brilliant digital forensics expert, but he is likely just another political hack.

So, I stand by my original post that Boden did say he didn’t know what he was signing and that Leftists are happy about his E.O.s but many of us conservatives think they’re a disaster for the country.

Peter said...

Jared, I'm not sure why you are making accusations about me wanting a Marxist government. Is it just because I did not see enough evidence to convince me that the election was "stolen"? These two things seem unrelated. I'm also not sure how you can claim there was not a coup attempt when we all saw it with our own eyes. How can you call it a "small riot"? Five people died, including a police officer. Another officer was beaten with an American flag, and another threatened to be shot with his own gun. This, unlike other riots this year, was a direct attack on our government and our democracy.

I would be glad to look at any evidence you have about the rioters being affiliated with "antifa" or BLM. But from what I am seeing all the people we saw in the videos storming the building have had long histories of right wing activities and statements online.

How can your list of accomplishments be taken seriously when you include "the border wall nearly done"? He did patch up and strengthen a lot of wall or fencing that was already there, but the footprint of the wall is just 40 miles longer than it was before Trump took office. Are you going to tell me that Mexico also paid for this as he promised?

https://www.factcheck.org/2020/12/trumps-border-wall-where-does-it-stand/

As a counterpoint to what you consider accomplishments, consider this:

He said he would repeal the Affordable Care Act, and replace it with something “beautiful.”

He promised to eliminate the federal deficit.

He promised to bring down the price of prescription drugs.

He promised to revive the struggling coal industry.

He said he’d drain the swamp. Instead, he’s brought into his administration more billionaires, CEOs, and Wall Street moguls than in any administration in history.

He promised to bring an end to Kim Jong Un’s nuclear program.

He said he would distance himself from his businesses while in office.

He promised to end the opioid crisis.

He said he’d release his tax returns.

He promised to protect American steel jobs.

He pledged to put America first. Instead, he’s deferred to dictators and authoritarians at America’s expense, and ostracized our allies—who laughed at us behind our back.

And I certainly don't hear you arguing that he had the qualities of a wise man, those mentioned by Tom.

Peter said...

I thought I sent this message yesterday, but I may be getting senile or I am not doing it right.

Jared, I'm not sure why you are making accusations about me wanting a Marxist government. Is it just because I did not see enough evidence to convince me that the election was "stolen"? These two things seem unrelated. I'm also not sure how you can claim there was not a coup attempt when we all saw it with our own eyes. How can you call it a "small riot"? Five people died, including a police officer. Another officer was beaten with an American flag, and another threatened to be shot with his own gun. This, unlike other riots this year, was a direct attack on our government and our democracy.

I also wonder what evidence you are looking at to determine that Trump had the support of over half the country.

I would be glad to look at any evidence you have about the rioters being affiliated with "antifa" or BLM. But from what I am seeing all the people we saw in the videos storming the building have had long histories of right wing activities and statements online.

How can your list of accomplishments be taken seriously when you include "the border wall nearly done"? He did patch up and strengthen a lot of wall or fencing that was already there, but the footprint of the wall is just 40 miles longer than it was before Trump took office. Are you going to tell me that Mexico also paid for this as he promised?

https://www.factcheck.org/2020/12/trumps-border-wall-where-does-it-stand/

As a counterpoint to what you consider accomplishments, consider this:

He said he would repeal the Affordable Care Act, and replace it with something “beautiful.”

He promised to eliminate the federal deficit.

He promised to bring down the price of prescription drugs.

He promised to revive the struggling coal industry.

He said he’d drain the swamp. Instead, he’s brought into his administration more billionaires, CEOs, and Wall Street moguls than in any administration in history.

He promised to bring an end to Kim Jong Un’s nuclear program.

He said he would distance himself from his businesses while in office.

He promised to end the opioid crisis.

He said he’d release his tax returns.

He promised to protect American steel jobs.

He pledged to put America first. Instead, he’s deferred to dictators and authoritarians at America’s expense, and ostracized our allies—who laughed at us behind our back.

I certainly don't hear you arguing that he had the qualities of a wise man, those mentioned by Tom.

What you are telling me in your last post is that you will continue to believe what you want to believe despite any proof. That seems to be the case for many, many, Trump supporters.

Jared James Bristol said...

Very simply, Peter...you do not offer a single rebuttal to my list of accomplishments. You offer only a questionable list of things He was unable to get done. Did you notice that he was in constant inquisition from your wonderful left beginning the day he announced he would run? Impeachment was touted 19 hours after he took the pledge. And still he got more done in 4 years than any 3 of your types! Currently, for example your Pelosi will put forth a bill with a couple hundred billion in it to open schools perfectly safe to open as is but not a penny toward the $5B Trump managed to build the amount of wall that he did. Your arguments are vacuous. He has been hindered to the max the whole way because he threatened your Marxist reps and Senators' comfy swamp condos. You wish for continued wars? No peace agreements in the Middle East? My taxes went down guy and I'm a retired teacher, no elitist.

Peter said...

Jared, you start out by claiming I didn't offer a single rebuttal to your list of accomplishments when I directly refuted your border wall claim with facts, only to hear excuses. You call my list of Trump's many failures "questionable", yet you did not offer a single rebuttal to any of them. But if you are looking for more rebuttals I'll pick another of your claims, that Trump had the stock market at "all-time highs". This is easily verifiable by numbers...both Obama and Clinton had it even better.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-market-performance-under-trump-trails-only-obama-and-clinton-11611161401

Then there is the fact that Trump has not ended any wars or completely removed US troops from any country in the Mideast.

I too paid a little less in taxes last year, but I know that the bill has middle-class families being phased out of the cuts while the elite get to keep theirs. Trump was watching out for his own.

I'm not looking for hostility, I am just trying to politely and rationally discuss the issues of the day.

Jared James Bristol said...

Peter,
One or two small things: 1. I label you a Marxist because you vote for (or support) Biden and Harris. He is a dottering, demented "progressive" (read socialist puppet) and she has a lifetime history of being in bed (literally) with Marxists. When they remove Joe, we'll have the fully Marxist in the highest seat in our government, a goal the communists have threatened for about 70 years. Congratulations. 2. What are you talking about with the stock market? I've never owned a stock, so I have no first hand knowledge, but the news (your news) talks of record high after record high. Trump's economy was booming until the China virus...like possibly never before (read energy independent for example).