Age and Wisdom

[Bijo]

age --> wisdom: true?

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Only if you learn from your experiences and take the right lessons from them.

I would say however that most people do get wiser with age. Though the young always think they are wiser.

[Ronin]

not true....

case in point: politicians

considering that most politicians only get to positions of power after they are 40 (cases of prime ministers or presidents of younger age are rare) and considering that these people are complete morons....

if these people got wiser as they grew old.......how stupid would they have to be when they were young? Is such a thing even possible? I mean how would such people survive? they would surelly have forgot to inhale and exhale or something

[Kagemusha]

define wisdom?

[Gawain of Orkeny]

considering that most politicians only get to positions of power after they are 40 (cases of prime ministers or presidents of younger age are rare) and considering that these people are complete morons....

if these people got wiser as they grew old.......how stupid would they have to be when they were young?

Well obviously even stupider so you havent proven a thing They had to work up to being a politician. Or maybe your right its down to being a politician
I stick by my post however. Dont forget the disclaimer

Only if you learn from your experiences and take the right lessons from them.

Politicians certainly do not fall into this category

[Lemur]

age ≠ wisdom

I've known plenty of people who became less wise as they got older. It all depends on how you react to and learn from experience. Or don't, as the case may be.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Not if you get dementia.

[Ironside]

not true....

case in point: politicians

considering that most politicians only get to positions of power after they are 40 (cases of prime ministers or presidents of younger age are rare) and considering that these people are complete morons....

if these people got wiser as they grew old.......how stupid would they have to be when they were young? Is such a thing even possible? I mean how would such people survive? they would surelly have forgot to inhale and exhale or something

Have you actually seen the youth parties of the main parties?
Appearently breathing doesn't require much brainpower.

Husar, I've seen that one as a proverb (although it was formulated that the stupid ones learns from thier own mistakes and the wise ones from others).

[Odin]

age --> wisdom: true?

No.

Events that garnish expirence, that in the future, may be drawn upon in reflection and applied to a current circumstance = wisdom (IMHO)

This theory dosent require one to be older, it just requires expirence, however i concede that with age your opportunity to expirence more is greater.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Its like asking do you get smarter with age. Not quite the same thing. If you dont take your lessons to heart no. you wont get any wiser or smarter. This is a no brainer of a question that IMO I said all that needs to be said in my first post. No one has added anything new here.

Now that you have all benefited from my infinite wisdom this thread may be closed

[Andres]

Gaining experience certainly helps. But you must be able to learn from your experiences as well.

And common sense is also a necessary prerequisite imo. If you have a decent amount of common sense, you can see and understand alot of things already without really experiencing them.

Off course, one can argue that common sense = wisdom.

[Stig]

@Ronin, try running a country

I think experience does help, but if you want to call that being wise, I dunno.

[John86]

"Nature is full of freaks, and now puts an old head on young shoulders, and then a young heart beating under fourscore winters." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

[Bijo]

The responses have gladdened me.

In real life I have / had been arguing with those of old age (about anything) and when I use logic and experience of the things I have learnt and recall the deepness I have had and I know they err (and sometimes they themselves know so too), they usually turn to the argument that with age wisdom comes.

I then inform them they are in error and they -- wanting to be correct -- keep up silly arguments based on (their belief of) 'age --> wisdom'. The fools.

But it taught me another wisdom, a truism actually: it is difficult to change most old peoples' minds.

[Papewaio]

Meme's seem to be territorial. Once an idea has taken hold it takes alot more effort to replace it then it took to originally plant one.

Sometimes part of learning is the ability to unlearn.

[Lemur]

When I use logic and experience of the things I have learnt and recall the deepness I have had and I know they err (and sometimes they themselves know so too), they usually turn to the argument that with age wisdom comes.

This sounds like more of a last refuge sort of thing than a serious argument. But to be frank, I don't know anyone who reacts well to being told they are wrong. There's an art to that sort of discussion.

I then inform them they are in error and they -- wanting to be correct -- keep up silly arguments based on (their belief of) 'age --> wisdom'. The fools.

Yeah, this is the sort of thing I'm talking about. Nobody likes to be "informed they are in error." One has to be a bit delicate when correcting another human being, even when they are obviously wrong. And as often as not, they're not going to change their minds right then. It's much better to ask questions, drop facts, and let their minds chug it over in their own good time. Unless the situation is life-threatening, there's no rush.

One thing that can come with age: patience.

But it taught me another wisdom, a truism actually: it is difficult to change most old peoples' minds.

Why restrict this truism to old people? It's hard to change anyone's mind. Look at how you've posted in the SF/drama thread in the Frontroom. Multiple people came back at you with intelligent, informed critiques of your initial post, and you didn't modify your position in any meaningful way. You aren't old, are you?

A mulish attitude is not the preserve of the aged, and you don't need to be advanced in years to plant your heels in the ground.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Ive said this before but wisdom comes when you realise that the more you learn makes you realize just how little you really know. If you are wise when you are young chances are you will get wiser as you age. So in general yes age does equal wisdom. If not you certainly are doing something wrong.

[Reverend Joe]

Age does not necessarily grant wisdom. It all depends on if you bother to learn.

However, the reverse equation, younger=dumber, does hold up pretty well.

Just look at me in the Beatles thread... getting pissed because I am being told to respect a musical group... that's why I stopped posting there, I was acting an ass.

[Pannonian]

Ive said this before but wisdom comes when you realise that the more you learn makes you realize just how little you really know.

I like the Oscar Wilde line: "I am not young enough to know everything".

[Caius]

age --> wisdom: true?

Occidental World = No
Oriental World = Yes

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Lets not leave out American Indians yes . In fact its still so in many cultures around the world. Like I said nothing beats experience. You can learn it the hard way on your own or take an old person who has been through it countless times tell you their experiences and learn from that. It never hurts to get us old folks view on something before you act on it . In fact its usually advisable.

[Incongruous]

Considering that most of the people in ths forum are probably under 40, this is just unfair.

[Lemur]

Even scarier than the old vs. young issue is the dreaded Dunning-Kruger effect. In short, these researchers proved that those who know the least on a subject will grossly overestimate how much they know, and how competent they are. Likewise, those who know the most will generally underestimate their knowledge and competence.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

When they start hiring kids to teach us old folks in school age will no longer equal wisdom. Does anyone else think the young know more in general or are in general wiser than those older than them or for the most part arent the old wiser from experience?

[rory_20_uk]

Occidental World = No
Oriental World = Yes

And what world was more stultified than the Oriental world? big on everything being done the same, but sadly nothing really happened new.

If the young only learnt what the old taught we'd still be slogging behind wooden ploughs as thats what we'd always done.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

If the young only learnt what the old taught

Notice you had to add only. If the old didnt teach the young the young would be dead