How is Wisdom Defined
(This is an update of an old blog post I did under another of my past names and blog)
Definition of Wisdom
Simply put, wisdom is whatever works best for you and develops over time as you find what works better and what doesn't perform optimally.
Google and Gemini Make One Wiser
My more recent growth in wisdom has come from the judicious use of Google (and now AI) and sorting out what works for me and what I really don't think is much help. So if I don't know what I need to know, I just "Google" it (or use Gemini) to find a better solution to my problem.
Take this Facebook post as an example of someone who will eventually get wisdom.
…I broke my phone last week and lost a lot of my contacts, could everyone please send me a text with your name so I can add you back?
You would think that after losing this information several times, one would create a backup in case of a mishap. I know I did this a lot in my working days for contacts since you make a lot of them in the sales and marketing field. And I didn't have a cell phone since they weren't available on the open market as yet. So I also carried some spare change to use a payphone in case of some emergency. My contact list was saved on an early-days computer and was simply a dot matrix printout of that information when I finally got my own computer. Up until then, the sales management groups only wanted everything handwritten. They had not yet developed wisdom in this matter, and some never did. They were mostly full of a lot of themselves, and possibly other things. Some did have wisdom, and I paid attention to their advice.
Here are some other items that show I developed wisdom, and I would like to share them with you now.
Wisdom in Action
I made a butcher block for my various kitchen knives and custom-cut it to hold the different blade widths while I assembled it (now it won't fit my latest knife, so back to square one with no shop, and the magnetic knife holder is now the answer). Now that is not the wisdom I gained here, but it was sort of some. I got wisdom when I realized that all blocks at the time stored the knives against the blade edge. Well, since I started hand-sharpening all my knives myself, I soon realized that a better way to store them is to simply turn them around and let them rest on their spines so the edges stay sharper much longer. The knife companies just marketed another version of the knife block/knife set, with the knives now resting on their sides. They, after all, were in the business of selling more knives.
The best toilet bowl cleaner for my money turns out to be plain old ordinary white vinegar. It disinfects and breaks down lime buildup in the bowl, and it is so cheap compared to the packaged and overmarketed versions in the toilet bowl cleaning section, and it seems to work much better. Try a couple of cups, then let it sit for a while before using the brush on the bowl. If that doesn't work so well, try 3-4 cups the next time, which is an example of how one develops wisdom.
Age Means More Wisdom
Why is it that older folks seem to have more wisdom than younger folks? Well, that one is really a no-brainer, since the older folks have made more mistakes and corrected them because they have been around a lot longer than younger folks. It is known as experience and not useless information that a younger folk once told me my head was full of (useless information). I think he was full of something else, but since I gained wisdom, I didn't say that to him. He was, after all, the owner's son.
I learned a lot about wisdom working at a golf course. There are a lot of really bad golfers out there, and you only got better if you changed what wasn't working. It never ceased to amaze me that so many of them just kept on doing the same old thing on just about every shot, and their game never improved. I, in my infinite wisdom, decided to take some lessons, and so my game immediately showed significant improvement. So I learned that you can gain wisdom from others who have already gained theirs.
Just stay away from advice from those who are full of something else. That is wisdom in its purest form.
Y'all have a wunnerful day!
Comments
Post a Comment