Intelligence & wisdom

Recently, I happened to be part of a social media debate on the ‘intelligence and wisdom.’ The group members gave a lot of interesting inputs which ranged from outrageous to really insightful.

The term ‘wisdom’ is used in a very peculiar and specific context in English language and hence needs discussion. I had heard a sentence a few years ago. “A smart man knows that a tomato is a fruit; a wise man knows not to put tomatoes in a fruit salad.” A tomato is objectively a fruit; that is a fact. The idea that a tomato does not belong in a fruit salad is subjective; that is not a fact. It is a commonly held opinion, however and so there is truth to it. The distinction between these ideas is the distinction between intelligence and wisdom. Wisdom is intelligence that is used in the context of real life. One may call it ‘applied intelligence’ fortified with experience and understanding. Intelligence is implicit in wisdom (?) however the vice versa is not necessarily true. Judgment is an integral part of wisdom. It is assumed that wise people use their intelligence for the well-being of humanity. Hence, there is a moral and ethical angle to their intelligence. We call it conscience. These moral and ethical values may be compassion, empathy, sympathy, honesty and transparency. Traditionally, you go to a wise man when you are seeking help or advice in difficult situations. He is generally an elderly person who has gone through thick and thin of life. He can think holistically and is able to separate wheat from the chaff. His advice should appeal to your conscience and yet at the same time result in the best possible outcome for you. Hence, wisdom is striking the right balance between conscience and prudence! In other words, it’s striking a balance between what is ideal and what is practical in view of human limitations. Wisdom is the fruit in the tree of knowledge. Someone had said, “We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.” Knowledge comes but wisdom lingers!