How is it that people consider themselves smart? I do myself-I think I am intelligent. But what is it that makes us think we are smart? Knowing things? Acting with wisdom?
We've forgotten more wisdom, and replaced it with facts, figures, extraneous bibbits of knowledge which, when we put them together coherently makes us feel 'smart'.
You just did it yourself. Bibbits is a word I just made up, and, seeing how I used it in the sentence confirmed that, although you had never heard of it, you understand what it means. Just an example of assumed knowledge. Knowledge is only ever half as important as Wisdom, and Wisdom, in my opinion, has been left behind by many in favor of knowing more things.
I've been reading through the books of Proverbs and Psalms, Ecclesiastes lately, and I believe that the Wisdom found in those books will improve the thinking and lives of anyone who studies them. More knowledge will be a side-effect, serendipitous treasure, but Wisdom is the prize we should seek, and it can be found in those books.
2 comments:
To me, the most important aspect of intelligence is the ability to critically examine all of our assumptions, all of what we think we know. I'm not nearly as good at this as I'd like to be, but it's what I aim for.
A good point, Jake-and if our assumptions do not prove to be correct, we achieve more wisdom and understanding by letting them go, leaving them behind. We will always find more asasumptions to examine inthe years ahead.
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