Personally I think this isn’t about boasting high IQ scores or flaunting academic achievements, but about real-life wisdom. Being wise isn’t just about knowing things, it’s about understanding people, situations and even ourselves. It’s about making the right decisions, even in the face of uncertainty.
But how do you tell someone is truly wise? Is there something that can indicate true wisdom?
I like these answers, but I think you could have all of these without actually having much wisdom about anything.
So, I'd add that a wise person is going to be able to offer uncommon input that I need to think about.
Only a wise man thinks about the uncommon inputs from another wise man. Stupid people don't take inputs.
Fair enough. I suppose a stupid person will struggle to identify a wise person.
Absolutely.
Could you please help us identify some of the wisest people of our time?
Not to blow smoke up their butts, but @k00b and @elvismercury are amongst the wisest people I regularly encounter. In general, though, one of my favorite things about SN is that I get to interact with a bizarrely wise group of people.
Two public intellectuals (for lack of a better term) whose wisdom I've benefited from are Lew Rockwell and Jordan Peterson. I no longer follow either of them closely, but they provided some formative input to me that I often reflect on.
Thanks.
So rightly coined. I'd say SN is a perfect station of wisest people among all online forums.
I've read about both of your other recommendations while I was studying. I accept I never read them whole heartedly because while studying literature only poetry and satire, especially from the middle ages, interested me. Bacon and Milton used to be my favourite but my taste is slowly tilting towards politics amd psychology in recent times. I guess as we age we start choosing seriousness over humour and satire.
Have you read any Vonnegut? He's my favorite author by a mile (there is no second best) and an amazing satirist.
He slipped my mind, because I read all of his books many years ago.
right back at you
🥰
+1
I had a hard time articulating that idea
The surefire way to tell is when someone shares their wisdom with you and you learn from it. Therefore I think it's actually subjective.
The greatest situation I've ever found myself in was mentoring someone that I was learning from at the same time. Bi-directionally shared wisdom is unstoppable, and in this particular case, together we dominated the 200yo, 5000 employee company we worked for while we were there, and drove it to perform about 5x.
what, my Oxford diploma ain't enough?!
Fucksake, higher ed scammed me.
If your oxfo diploma is enough, what about mine from Cambridge?! Lol
Certificates and degrees are for everyone than truly wise.
NERD FIGHT!!!
You too can bring one of yours from Stanford or Harvard. Let's make this even BIGGER NERD FIGHT!!!
Yeah, just hang on a second while dig my Harvard and Stanford diplomas out of the attic.
Stuck under all the other credentials, yes?
Sure, let's go with that.
Boom boom boom fiiiiight!
Let's begin.
They agree with me. Hahahaha
I agree with you.
Does that mean @Undisciplined isn't?
Their nym is Aardvark
Indeed I agree. After all @Aardvark and coins are same.
Buy Bitcoin.
I don't believe there's a formula to measure that without knowing someone personally. I understand that the only way to know if someone is wise is through other people — and that’s not always a reliable method. Good advice and a life that sets examples of good practices are signs of wisdom to me. The person doesn’t have to be a saint, but a certain moral standard is expected, or at least that they haven’t repeated poor choices.
They listen.
A wise person listens more than they speak and isn’t afraid to admit when they don’t have the answers. They think things through, stay grounded in their values, and try to see life from other people’s perspectives. You’ll notice their wisdom not in how much they know, but in how they live and treat others. Wise people are truly humble.
I can tell when the person is the opposite of me lol