Wisdom vs Knowledge

Wisdom and knowledge are two of the most powerful tools at human disposal. With these tools, virtually any problem can be solved, any riddle broken, and any decision dissected. But what differentiates the two? Where does knowledge stop and wisdom begin? Is there a line of division? A grey area? And who decides what is knowledge and what is wisdom? Here is my decision.

Knowledge is something taught to us. It can come from books, from teachers themselves, friends, neighbors, passers-by. It is handed down to us from another source. There is a definite truth in knowledge; there is no arguing that the moon orbits the Earth, that two plus two will always equal four. We obtain knowledge from everything, we absorb it from the atmosphere in a process similar to diffusion. It is brought to us from another source, a person, a book, a television show, an experiment.

Wisdom is not handed down to us, it is not common. Wisdom does not come from books or models. Wisdom comes from personal experience. It is the lesson one learns when he alone has lived something and learned from his own life experience. Wisdom is neither given from nor gained through another; it comes from within one's self as a decision or revelation brought on by an event in one's own life.

How is the knowledge of an experiment different from the wisdom of an event? An experiment is randomized, one never truly knows what the outcome will be, just as with an event, right? Perhaps not. In an experiment everything is controlled, calculated, formulated, and pretty much beaten into the ground before, during, and after its course. Give 100 people the exact problem, directions and equipment, and 90% of them will produce the same result. (My belief is that 5% of those people didn't care to read the directions, and another 3% read them and chose not to follow them.) When faced with an experiment, a basic level of research, sometimes even a good guess, will lead one to a result fairly close to the true result of the experiment. Experiments are contained, safe, rationed. One knows what to expect. Wisdom blindsides people. The outcome nails you in the face like a brick. Usually one obtains wisdom from an event- something usually painful, physically or otherwise, a loss, a heartache, a defeat, perhaps a victory. The lesson of wisdom is not taught to us, it is earned through the trials faced every day. If 100 people all took part in the same event, they may each walk away with a different lesson learned, a different grain of wisdom was embedded to each of them. In the same instance, 100 people could all experience completely different events, but all gain the same wisdom.

Can one learn wisdom? I don't think so. I believe people can learn from the wisdom of others, but we must each earn the truth behind the wisdom for ourselves. Great philosophers, powerful leaders, even our grandparents have lent us their wisdom, what their own life journey has taught them, but we can only take the lesson and try to understand what brought them to it. Knowledge is freely given, taking only our time and determination to set it to memory. Wisdom does not require something of us, it simply requires us. To earn wisdom one must take a leap, a plunge, a fall; somebody has to make a move, make a mistake, make a discovery. For wisdom to be bestowed upon a person, he must do something to earn it. His own life choices, and the consequences and repercussions of those choices teach him the lesson of wisdom, whereas other people, books, a sign on the street can pass along knowledge. "The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776," is an example of knowledge. The simple fact can be read, heard, remembered, even verified. It can be passed along in a variety of ways, from textbooks to television shows, even a text message on a phone (though why people would send a text message such as that escapes me). "Don't give up, you never know what you can do until you try," is an example of wisdom. While that seems common knowledge to some, (no pun intended) that simple quote is a lesson learned though some body's personal struggle. Thomas Edison, for example, tried over 20,000 different materials for the filament to light his incandescent lamp before finding one that worked. When asked how it felt to fail 20,000 times, he responded, (and I paraphrase badly) that he didn't fail at all; finding the proper material was just a 20,000-step process. His own trials and errors, his facing defeat literally thousands of times is what taught him not to give up. Somebody saying, "Don't give up," doesn't quite hold the same validity as learning the lesson for one's self. So my answer is no, wisdom cannot be learned, nor can it be taught. It can be experienced.

On the other side, knowledge is not a level playing field. My former example of 2+2=4 can be disputed, refuted, and disproved by thousands of people in the world, several of which I know personally. My brain's capacity of understanding and being able to learn and comprehend knowledge is quite different from every other person on the planet. I doubt I will ever be able to match the knowledge of nuclear physicists or astronauts. Although, I am sure there are some people in the world who will never be my match for knowledge of English grammar (which I don't always use) or classical music. Different people have different mental strengths and abilities, which will aid them or limit the rates and levels of difficulty at which they can fully understand certain knowledge. I myself cannot manage to remember historical dates and names as well as my 9-year old niece, but I can memorize the melody and lyrics to a song on the radio after casually hearing it twice in an afternoon spent running errands in the car. Knowledge is difficult to learn, more so for some than others. Wisdom seemingly falls into one's lap after the day is done, while knowledge has to be worked for, even practiced.

Knowledge and wisdom are two very different, but very important keys we hold. When used properly and together, they are a dynamic combination. Though different, I believe wisdom and knowledge share a few threads, perhaps they've played a few rounds of golf together and bonded a bit. There is a point where knowledge and wisdom separate, but there are also several points where they overlap from time to time. Without one, the other is pretty useless. But that is a different rant and must be saved for another day.