I recently read through the story of Solomon in the Bible. Solomon\u00a0was\u00a0considered to be a very wise man. I too would like to be a wise man. But what is wisdom?<\/p>\n
The dictionary defines intelligence as\u00a0the ability to learn or understand things or to deal with new or difficult situations<\/em>. Notice that intelligence is an\u00a0ability<\/strong>. It is my assertion that intelligence is innate. All people are born with a certain amount of this attribute called intelligence. There is nothing that we\u00a0can do to gain or increase in intelligence. Our\u00a0God-given intellect is what we\u00a0have to work with.<\/p>\n This statement could be considered offensive because intelligence is so highly valued. Some make the mistake of judging the worth of others based on their level of intelligence. So, to state that some people are born more intelligent than others, in the minds of certain individuals, is tantamount to saying that some people are born superior to others. That is not at all my intention, nor do I believe it to be true.<\/p>\n Wisdom is a much more desirable trait than intelligence, and while intelligence is an integral part of the wisdom formula, they are not directly proportional. A more intelligent person is not necessarily wiser, and vice-versa.<\/p>\n The Merriam-Webster Dictionary contains multiple definitions for the word “knowledge”. For the purposes of this article, I will be treating “knowledge” as synonymous with “stored information”.<\/p>\n Unlike intelligence, which is innate, knowledge is gained through experiences. When we\u00a0are born, we\u00a0have no knowledge whatsoever. As we\u00a0experience things in life, our\u00a0mind stores memories of those experiences. Our\u00a0memories are the building blocks of our\u00a0knowledge.<\/p>\n I believe it possible that people may have different capacities for knowledge, but measuring the amount of information stored in a person’s mind is a fruitless effort, and I doubt that any of us\u00a0uses our\u00a0mind’s knowledge store to its full potential anyway.<\/p>\n Understanding is the application of intelligence to knowledge. Our minds are incredibly good at discerning patterns in large sets of data. When we apply our intellect to a body of observations about a particular topic, we start to discern patterns, and thus gain a better understanding about that topic. The longer we apply our intellect, the more understanding we gain. The more information we gather, the more understanding we gain.<\/p>\n Understanding is proportional to the magnitude of our intelligence, the length\u00a0of time we apply that intelligence to a topic, and the amount of information we have gathered on that topic. Hence, with faux mathematics, I propose the following formula:<\/p>\n No matter how much intellect, knowledge, and time we\u00a0have, we\u00a0will never fully understand even a single topic. We live in a complex world where any number of seemingly random factors will affect any topic that we\u00a0endeavor to understand. Climates fluctuate. Personalities and emotional states change and clash. Devices and machines wear out and break down. Software has bugs. Every day, in myriad ways, the unexpected happens. When it does, our understanding is invalidated to some degree.<\/p>\n Sometimes we are able to navigate this sea of uncertainty with surprising alacrity, seemingly predicting the unpredictable, and modifying our behavior to defy our preconceptions. Perhaps we are able to read the mood in the room. Perhaps we subconsciously notice some minute, but key, detail. We call it luck, intuition, instinct, gut feeling, serendipity.<\/p>\n I call it discernment. I believe that discernment is a God-given gift, and like intelligence, we are each gifted with differing degrees of discernment.<\/p>\n Better, wisdom is borne out in action, or occasionally\u00a0in deliberate inaction. Wisdom is the application of understanding. It is the decision, through an effort of willpower, to use our understanding to guide our actions in such a way that a desired outcome can be achieved. The action that is taken is seen by others as wisdom when:<\/p>\n If no action is taken, then no wisdom is in evidence. Knowing the right thing to do in a situation, but not doing it is the opposite of wisdom. Imparting advice to another is not wisdom, but only a transfer of knowledge. The recipient of the information now has the responsibility\u00a0to apply their own intelligence and willpower to the information gained, and thus they have the opportunity to act wisely.<\/p>\n Continuing in the tradition of faux mathematics, I propose the following formula for wisdom:<\/p>\n While a single act can be viewed as wisdom, it takes more than one act to be seen as a wise person. A man or woman who portrays the characteristic of wisdom makes wise choices reliably and on a regular basis.<\/p>\n Acquire\u00a0knowledge. Apply your intellect to gain understanding. Learn of your intuition so that you can discern how to best apply it. Fortify\u00a0your willpower so that you will be able to act decisively on your understanding.\u00a0Be wise.<\/p>\n – danBhentschel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I recently read through the story of Solomon in the Bible. Solomon\u00a0was\u00a0considered to be a very wise man. I too would like to be a wise man. But what is wisdom? Wisdom is not intelligence The dictionary defines intelligence as\u00a0the ability to learn or understand things or to deal with new or difficult situations. Notice … Continue reading The wisdom formula<\/span> Wisdom requires\u00a0knowledge<\/h2>\n
Wisdom relies on\u00a0understanding<\/h2>\n
understanding = intellect x knowledge x time<\/pre>\n
\u00a0Understanding with discernment<\/h2>\n
Wisdom is an action<\/h2>\n
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wisdom = ( understanding + discernment ) x willpower<\/pre>\n
\u00a0A wise person<\/h2>\n