Wisdom

[BH]

What, in all of your opinions, constitute wisdom? What do you have to do to gain wisdom? And what kind of character attributes would someone who is wise hold to?

 

[rousseau]

IMO, wisdom is a corollary of experience, not a binary on/off switch.

And it goes in grades. Someone can be quite wise and think they know it all, then completely devour themselves over the next few years of their life.

 

[Elixir]

Paraphrasing someone famous -

Wisdom is a product of knowledge, and knowledge is a product of foolish doings.

 

[Horatio Parker]

Mentioning wisdom always remind me of ol' Bill Blake...

'What is the price of Experience? do men buy it for a song?
Or wisdom for a dance in the street? No, it is bought with the price
Of all that a man hath, his house, his wife, his children.
Wisdom is sold in the desolate market where none come to buy,
And in the wither'd field where the farmer plows for bread in vain.

It is an easy thing to triumph in the summer's sun
And in the vintage and to sing on the waggon loaded with corn.
It is an easy thing to talk of patience to the afflicted,
To speak the laws of prudence to the houseless wanderer,
To listen to the hungry raven's cry in wintry season
When the red blood is fill'd with wine and with the marrow of lambs.

It is an easy thing to laugh at wrathful elements,
To hear the dog howl at the wintry door, the ox in the slaughter house moan;
To see a god on every wind and a blessing on every blast;
To hear sounds of love in the thunder storm that destroys our enemies' house;
To rejoice in the blight that covers his field, and the sickness that cuts off his children,
While our olive and vine sing and laugh round our door, and our children bring fruits and flowers.

Then the groan and the dolor are quite forgotten, and the slave grinding at the mill,
And the captive in chains, and the poor in the prison, and the soldier in the field
When the shatter'd bone hath laid him groaning among the happier dead.

It is an easy thing to rejoice in the tents of prosperity:
Thus could I sing and thus rejoice: but it is not so with me.'

'Compel the poor to live upon a crust of bread, by soft mild arts.
Smile when they frown, frown when they smile; and when a man looks pale
With labour and abstinence, say he looks healthy and happy;
And when his children sicken, let them die; there are enough
Born, even too many, and our earth will be overrun
Without these arts. If you would make the poor live with temper,
With pomp give every crust of bread you give; with gracious cunning
Magnify small gifts; reduce the man to want a gift, and then give with pomp.
Say he smiles if you hear him sigh. If pale, say he is ruddy.
Preach temperance: say he is overgorg'd and drowns his wit
In strong drink, though you know that bread and water are all
He can afford. Flatter his wife, pity his children, till we can
Reduce all to our will, as spaniels are taught with art.'

The sun has left his blackness and has found a fresher morning,
And the mild moon rejoices in the clear and cloudless night,
And Man walks forth from midst of the fires: the evil is all consum'd.
His eyes behold the Angelic spheres arising night and day;
The stars consum'd like a lamp blown out, and in their stead, behold
The expanding eyes of Man behold the depths of wondrous worlds!
One Earth, one sea beneath; nor erring globes wander, but stars
Of fire rise up nightly from the ocean; and one sun
Each morning, like a new born man, issues with songs and joy
Calling the Plowman to his labour and the Shepherd to his rest.
He walks upon the Eternal Mountains, raising his heavenly voice,
Conversing with the animal forms of wisdom night and day,
That, risen from the sea of fire, renew'd walk o'er the Earth;
For Tharmas brought his flocks upon the hills, and in the vales
Around the Eternal Man's bright tent, the little children play
Among the woolly flocks. The hammer of Urthona sounds
In the deep caves beneath; his limbs renew'd, his Lions roar
Around the Furnaces and in evening sport upon the plains.
They raise their faces from the earth, conversing with the Man:

'How is it we have walk'd through fires and yet are not consum'd?
How is it that all things are chang'd, even as in ancient times?'

Kinda wanders off a bit toward the end...it's part of a much larger poem. Tharmas et al are characters representing certain ideas e.g. sensation.

 

[TV and credit cards]

What, in all of your opinions, constitute wisdom? What do you have to do to gain wisdom? And what kind of character attributes would someone who is wise hold to?

Being wrong and recognizing it. The ability to amend your opinions. Not wanting the last word. Incapable of being butthurt.

 

[dendrast]

Not wanting more than you need.

Harder than it sounds.

 

[sharon45]

What, in all of your opinions, constitute wisdom?

The most valuable form of thought.

What do you have to do to gain wisdom?

One must be humble.

And what kind of character attributes would someone who is wise hold to?

See above.

 

[Kharakov]

What, in all of your opinions, constitute wisdom? What do you have to do to gain wisdom? And what kind of character attributes would someone who is wise hold to?

Well, with a high wisdom and charisma, you could become a political leader. Intelligence helps, but from the looks of things in the USA, charisma is good enough for politics.

Intelligence is a good attribute if you are into advancing the human race, or you outright want to manipulate people- think Mind Flayer, but using tech instead of innate ability. That's one direction things went back in Roman times (remains of that empire still prop up the old guard, hidden among the nations, controlling from below).

Anyway, it gives you bonuses to your saving throw against manipulation, so wisdom is good. A decent constitution doesn't hurt either. Heck, go for all 18s.

 

[Hermit]

What, in all of your opinions, constitute wisdom?

It's a reference book

What do you have to do to gain wisdom?

Pay $41.81 for a hardcover or $34.35 for a paperback if you want the 2017 edition.

 

[bigfield]

What, in all of your opinions, constitute wisdom? What do you have to do to gain wisdom? And what kind of character attributes would someone who is wise hold to?

Wisdom is good judgement born out of the diligent application of practical knowledge. To become wise, one has to acquire knowledge (by perception and study) and develop sound critical faculties.

The wise spare no time for bullshit, wear long white beards, and don't repeat their mistakes.

 

[bilby]

What, in all of your opinions, constitute wisdom? What do you have to do to gain wisdom? And what kind of character attributes would someone who is wise hold to?

Wisdom is good judgement born out of the diligent application of practical knowledge. To become wise, one has to acquire knowledge (by perception and study) and develop sound critical faculties.

The wise spare no time for bullshit, wear long white beards, and don't repeat their mistakes.

My beard is fairly short, and more grey than white. But apart from that, you are spot on.

The wise are also recognised by their humility.

 

[rousseau]

wisdom = experiences * quality of experiences * capacity to learn from experience * time to learn from your experiences

 

[DrZoidberg]

What, in all of your opinions, constitute wisdom? What do you have to do to gain wisdom? And what kind of character attributes would someone who is wise hold to?

Isn't wisdom just another word for stuff you've learned through experience? You might not know why something works but you've learned that doing something each time has worked in the past, so therefore it's wise to keep doing it. I think you can be wise and stupid.

 

[ruby sparks]

“Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.”

 

[bilby]

Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, OBE, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010) was an English actor, comedian, and singer-songwriter best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring his hapless onscreen character that was often called Norman Pitkin. He was awarded the 1953 BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles following the release of Trouble in Store, his first film in a lead role.

 

[Kharakov]

What, in all of your opinions, constitute wisdom? What do you have to do to gain wisdom? And what kind of character attributes would someone who is wise hold to?

Wise assness. They'd repeat "their mistakes" to bigfield numerous times, following them around while spilling good scotch on their carpet. They wouldn't light a cigar inside.

 

[sharon45]

The wise spare no time for bullshit, wear long white beards, and don't repeat their mistakes.

The first and the last are merely wishes.

 

[sharon45]

What, in all of your opinions, constitute wisdom? What do you have to do to gain wisdom? And what kind of character attributes would someone who is wise hold to?

Isn't wisdom just another word for stuff you've learned through experience? You might not know why something works but you've learned that doing something each time has worked in the past, so therefore it's wise to keep doing it. I think you can be wise and stupid.

Wisdom should be far greater than just that, and very smart people can still do very dumb things.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

What, in all of your opinions, constitute wisdom? What do you have to do to gain wisdom? And what kind of character attributes would someone who is wise hold to?

Wisdom is knowing the limitations of your knowledge, when to keep quiet, and how to piece together understanding from little tidbits here and there. Wisdom is attained by being attentive to all things, knowing, in general, what is noise, and what isn't noise.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

“Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.”

Wisdom is knowing that what isn't obvious isn't an indicator that something is true. A tomato can go in a fruit salad, but it needs to be there for a reason. Your statement is like saying, you never use blue for a night time painting, because the sky isn't blue. Flavor is like color. And if you know how to use it as such, you rarely have arbitrary limitations.