Wisdom

by Eduardo del Buey

PODCAST: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/ad2dc190-b83f-4de0-9977-9ed7a75fa04b/audio

Wisdom

"Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it."

Albert Einstein

“The key to good decision making is not knowledge. It is understanding. We are swimming in the former. We are desperately lacking in the other”.

Malcolm Gladwell

“Doubt is the beginning of wisdom!

Aristotle

Wisdom

A six-year-old with a smartphone can access most of the human knowledge available today.

However, in addition to factual knowledge, there is also a significant amount of inaccurate or simply incorrect information available online.

Social media enables individuals, media outlets, and businesses to form virtual communities with audiences, often made up of like-minded people around the globe, who share information and build relationships that were previously impossible.

Unfortunately, many of these communities function as echo chambers that exclude individuals with differing opinions, whose contributions could inspire a change in perspective and broaden one’s experience and vision.

Additionally, artificial intelligence (AI) now allows anyone with a computer to generate text on any issue with the touch of a key. While there is no guarantee that the text will be fact-checked or that the output will be factual rather than biased, many are carelessly using this tool, often unwittingly, to create misleading reports that impact our politics, economies, and social realities.

Therefore, while these tools can provide knowledge, we must be extremely cautious at this stage of their evolution to validate what is presented.

Some programs, including Chat GPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity, enable users to compare issues or weigh the pros and cons of various situations. This goes beyond simply generating a report by gathering and analyzing information through algorithms.

Indeed, the human thought process follows many of the same stages as online programs, but it goes much further.

The human process includes feelings based on subjective consciousness, along with the application of ethics and values based on personal experience or values that filter our ability to come to the best conclusion.

This is where the rubber meets the road.

Knowledge is limited in that it can be applied in any way that suits the user.

Wisdom involves applying one’s values and consciousness to establish boundaries on the use of pure knowledge and to enrich the facts with direction and purpose, transforming that knowledge into a positive force.

Ideas based only on knowledge, regardless of accuracy and without filters, can often result in tragic outcomes.

One need only look at those who still believe that 20th-century communism holds any relevance in today’s world. Venezuela, Cuba, and other countries led by individuals who accept the absolute tenets of Marxism without applying historical analysis or critical thinking depend on ideology rather than the wisdom gained from thorough analysis.

Those who increasingly embrace the virtues of fascism and authoritarianism without applying the lessons of the past to their reasoning and moral or ethical values are limiting their analysis. Many simply confine themselves to the opinions of leaders rather than exercising their own critical judgment.

Any able leader can leverage their expertise to promote an idea and persuade those who don’t question the validity of that knowledge. Political leaders do this all the time, as does the advertising industry.

Wisdom allows individuals to question knowledge, incorporating history, facts, contexts, and experience into the equation.

Knowledge is abundant, but wisdom often lags in how individuals apply it to make decisions and plan for the future.

How can one avoid falling into the trap of relying on knowledge alone rather than applying wisdom to decision-making?

We need to think independently of ideology or predetermined conditions.

We have to learn from our personal and human history.

Each decision should be made independently and should “feel” right.

We must learn to be attentive to our inner voice based on our values and moral and ethical beliefs.

We must develop our consciousness — our inner voice — and learn how to connect with it to achieve optimal results in our decision-making.

We should use critical thinking to determine the direction our inner voice is indicating.

To make decisions, you need knowledge, experience, facts, and a risk analysis (the pros and cons of the action you plan to take) before determining if it objectively makes sense and “feels right.”

Only then can we begin to harness the power of wisdom and learn to pursue the wisest path rather than just the most knowledgeable one.