Knowledge And Wisdom
Knowledge And WisdomThe question of a definition for wisdom was posed in KnowledgeAndInformation and is explored further here.
The closest I've gotten to a workable, flippant, and informal definition of the distinctions between knowledge and information:
-- KenMeltsner
Wisdom implies a movement away from personal utility and the pragmatic focus of knowledge, towards greater social contribution and negotiation, ethical considerations and longer time frames. Wisdom carries the connotation of timeless values, holistic rights, ecological sustainability and aesthetic balance. This view hinges on your personal view of knowledge. If you see knowledge as a quest for universal truth, you have already incorporated much of wisdom, but you must still face the question of 'who's truth'.
So wisdom = knowledge + perspective? The wider your perspective the wiser you are? -- YonatSharon
Sometimes "With the ancient [is] wisdom; and in length of days understanding." Job 12:12
But not always "I said, days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But [there is] a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Great men are not [always] wise: neither do the aged understand judgment." Job 31:7-9
-- KyleBrown
wisdom = knowledge + experience.
This is what I remember from Siddhartha by HermannHesse, can't remember if it is a direct quote. Which makes me question where memory fits into the picture.
I'm not sure whether wisdom always carries the connotation of timeless values. Given the changing world, what might have been considered wise in 1910 may not be considered wise in 2010.
But I agree that it has something to do with values. Wisdom seems to be the ability to choose between different courses of action, i.e., to use different sets of knowledge, in a way which selects the most appropriate from a range of perspectives, which are usually judged in the longer term when people have the value of hindsight -- PeterMurchland
Herman Hessse, in Siddhartha, a few page from the end of the book, wrote, "Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom... The wisdom which a wise man tries to communicate always sounds foolish." (--AlistairCockburn) I vote so far for PeterMurchland's last sentence - being aware of differing value sets and the fickleness of the future seem to play into wisdom.
I think that a lot of Wisdom comes from a certain WorldView or philosophy -- a particular /pattern/ that you apply to decision making. Faced with choices and your set of skills, you ask yourself....
Knowledge = ability to predict linear cause and affect?? Wisdom = ability to predict feedback system/ecological cause and effect??
Knowledge entails far more than an ability to predict. I prefer the statement that knowledge entails the capacity to act. Knowledge is what enables me to use this particular system and its particular user interface. This is not an ability to predict.
Taking this example of knowledge further to explore associated wisdom, I can't envisage any particular wisdom associated with my knowledge of HowWikiWorks, but I can envisage wisdom associated with how I choose to interact, what I choose to say and what I choose not to say. We would regard it wise for someone to withhold from pursuing further pointless argument where it is evident the argument is for argument's sake. I guess we are regarding wisdom as the capacity to foresee the longer term consequences and their impacts on others. So, I come back to wisdom having a longer term perspective and having a view of the whole and of the optimum outcome for all. -- PeterMurchland
A thought about knowledge and wisdom and DesignPattern stuff in general: it is or was common knowledge in the Expert System community that the difference between the approach of a "competent beginner" and an "expert" is that the beginner knows, and explicitly thinks about, the low-level rules of the activity when solving a problem, whereas the expert does some sort of more complex, and generally inchoate, pattern-recognition on the problem, and can thereby find a more apt solution more quickly.
Is the collecting and documenting of patterns an attempt to codify some of what the Expert does in problem solving? To document some of the high level rules, so that it will no longer require decades of experience in the field to learn to recognize that circumstances (like) X require a solution (like) Y?
Is Knowledge, then, a matter of knowing the individual moves, whereas wisdom is the ability to come up with the right combination with a single glance at the board? When we find and document patterns, are we trying to help people with mere Knowledge achieve results that might otherwise have required Wisdom? Or are we trying to make the path from Knowledge to Wisdom quicker?
Perhaps another possibility is that by reducing high-level wisdom to medium-level knowledge, we are putting into place a concrete level of abstraction which we can use to step up to the next higher level of wisdom.
Potentially, the Internet is a terrific repository for wisdom, provided you have the tools and patience to find it! As a start, I might plug my WisdomAwards. -- JeffChapman
The disciple trudged across the remote Tibetan valley and slowly pulled himself up the steep hill. He caught his breath, knocked on the monastery door, and asked the wizened monk who answered: "Master, may I ask you a question?"
"Yes", the monk replied.
"What is the secret of wisdom?", the disciple asked.
The monk smiled. "One secret of wisdom is to think plural, not singular."
The disciple smiled. "OK, then. What are the secrets of wisdom?"
The monk smiled. "One secret of wisdom is to think partial, not final."
The disciple smiled. "OK, then. What are some secrets of wisdom?"
The monk smiled.
The disciple smiled. "Thank you", he said.
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