Thursday, March 27, 2014

Old age and wisdom

In many cultures, the owl represents wisdom.  From an association with Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, and appearances in Aesop's fables to more recent cameos in A.A. Milne's "Winnie the Pooh," the owl is a go-to symbol of wisdom. Even if you just want to know how many licks it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop, you should ask an owl, though you risk losing your Tootsie Pop in the name of research.

But whom can we turn to for wisdom in the human world?  In high school I was told beer makes you smart!!!  They say is proven because they made bud wiser… In a study by Robert Sternberg of Yale participants were asked to nominate individuals that they thought wise, the average age for nominees was about 55 or 60 years old.  If you ask, people will say names of old-timers like Gandhi, Socrates, the Pope, etc…  Clearly, the public believes that with age comes wisdom.  I am 51, so I must be nearing the age where I am wise.  Yea right!

So is age a prerequisite for wisdom?  Now that I am aging, I am starting to doubt that as well.  We all know a few elderly people who lack wisdom. People certainly aren't always at peak brainpower in old age. The brain shrinks slightly with age, and aging leads to a normal decline in cognitive function that results into dementias or Alzheimer’s.  

Lately for work I have been reading many books as part of yearlong supervisor training course.  From "Smart to wise" by Prasad Kaipa and Navi Radio I read “Smartness is like a wild horse: riding it can be exhilarating for a while until you are thrown from it. To tame and harness smartness for the long run, you need wisdom – the stuff that gives you ethical clarity and a sense of purpose”.  I really wonder what that means?

In summary, as I age, I am more confused and less wise.  The more I read, the less knowledgeable I feel.  So in my mind, I believe age and wisdom do mean anything.  I believe as I age I become increasingly stupid.  Like riding my bike to work yesterday when even cars had issues.  Not wise, but I enjoyed it... (See you tube video below.)


Anyway, this whole topic started as I did ride my bike to work and I was so happy, but was it wise?  I know is 18 miles one way, but if provide time to just ride and think.  Time to reduce stress and realize how special I have it to ride when all those people pass me in their cars, stressed to no end and seemingly, getting nowhere. 

So does age bring wisdom?  I say no.  Experience brings wisdom and based on that, I say I am a solid path of gaining wisdom daily, but not sure I will ever be considered wise.


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