Is "older" wiser?

[cjcj]

Minnie moose is getting tired of my [i`m older routine] so i thought i would post this question for all to answer. I feel like i learn something "new" almost every day, but i know some old "stupid" people, and i know some young "stupid" people, if your a "student' of life wouldn`t it be a reasonable statement that if youve been around longer that you would have more insight than not [this is if two brains have equal capabilities] one young and one old. hell Buzz called me a wrinkled [old fart] and i`m only 49. but my brain feels like 29.

 

[Danny Batastini]

cjcj, you're only 11 years younger then me and I feel 49 lol.

 

[Moosie]

cjcj .. Older doesn't mean nothing... MY 6 year old types better then you and me

 

[Nut]

As I get older, all I realize is how little I do know.

Wisdom to me is that I have already made that mistake.

 

[cjcj]

Yes that may be true Moosie, i have to admit the younger people have a better understanding of computers/electronics in general. but thats not what i`m talking about, even a younger person like your 6 year old will be smarter [i hope] when he/she is 7 if you follow what i`m saying. nice try though.

 

[cjcj]

Nut have you learned how to handle "old" ladies in wallmart parking lots? i think you have since you`already have "mastered" that aspect of life. haha

 

[Nut]

LMAO

Vipe handles that problem now. I dont get to go with her to Wally World anymore.

 

[Troy Jones]

Some of you just don't get it. With out a doubt older is wiser. Being wise is something that comes with age, being smart isn't. If you don't believe that, it shows your ignorance and immaturity. I have coffee every morning at the cafe here with all the old gents, and I honor that I can learn from their experiences. It is sad when the respect for your elders is gone.

The young bull said to the old bull, lets run down the hill and screw that cow. No young bull, lets walk down and screw them all.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Age has nothing to do with being wiser. You could spend your whole life livin' next door to your momma, listening to AM radio and the Savage nation and become nothing more than an older Idiot.

Watch people as they age, eventually they get to a point where they can't handle new ideas, and they just shut down to the new ideas, and then you have somebody play the "respect your elders" card.


Look at the people in SI, who can't understand that life is changing, and the way we treat our resources in the 60-70's is a thing of the past, and we as a society have gotten wiser, and demand better for the resources we live in.

Hopefully we have moved beyond the whole "Man against Nature" thing, and eventually can get to "Man with Nature".

I would guess the bigger contribution towards wisdom, if required to list relevant factors would be
<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>Education
<LI>Distance from Momma's skirt (meaning the amount of new ideas and new people you have exposed yourself to.)
<LI>Cycles of Life (meaning have you been thru Ups and Downs in life, as you can learn as much thru the Ups as the Downs. All Ups, or all Downs, leads to a false sense of life.)
[/list]

 

[1_pointer]

I agree with LBG and 'Gunner. Age doesn't guarantee you anything, except that you're older. IMO, it is the breadth of the experience (which can include education) that contributes to 'wisdom'. A person who lives in one place doing the same things everyday has a ton of knowledge about that area, but I would not consider them wise. Isn't the saying, "A smart man learns from his mistakes and a wise man learns from the mistakes of others"? That to me does not denote age. Though I don't feel all old people are wise, I do love to learn from their experiences in life so that I may obtain at least a few nuggets of 'wisdom' in my short time on this rock.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>wis·dom ( P ) Pronunciation Key (wzdm)
n.
The ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight.
Common sense; good judgment: “It is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things” (Henry David Thoreau).

The sum of learning through the ages; knowledge: “In those homely sayings was couched the collective wisdom of generations” (Maya Angelou).
Wise teachings of the ancient sages.
A wise outlook, plan, or course of action <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Looking at these definitions of wisdom, 2 seem to point to age as a requirement, but the first two don't.

 

[dgibson]

Age does not equate wisdom. Wisdom is realizing just how much you DON'T know, not believing that you do just because you're a certain age. Experience is certainly closely related to wisdom, which lends the aura of wisdom to those old gents in the diner, because they've been there and done a lot. But that ain't wisdom, that's learning not to stick your finger in a light socket.

 

[lilbiggun]

I dont believe that older is wiser. It depends on the life you have lived. I know some old people who never did a wrong thing in there life and there as nieve as dirt. I also know some young guys (early 20's) who have been stabbed, done drugs and all that crap. Now they are trying to change there lives and (and doing a good job I might add) who know more about life than most people. I think its all about perspective. You have to be book smart and street tough, no such thing as an old person being wiser, unless he/she has been there.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[cjcj]

For those of you that think that as you get older[to a point]and have all of your faculties[memory etc.]that you arn`t "wiser' i have to ask you to answer this question? Do you know more today than you did last week? Do you know more now than when you were 30.25.20.17, 15, 10, 5, a baby?

 

[dgibson]

Sure, cjcj, but that's not wisdom, that's knowledge (or experience)...at least in my book. Wisdom is knowing how and when to apply that knowledge, or even better, when NOT to. Getting old is not a free ticket to wisdom. Heck, look at Congress...there are some fairly aged fellows there. How many of THEM would you call wise?

 

[Troy Jones]

cjcj,

I don't believe the omniscience they behold will allow them to answer such a petty question. weeZe 2 stoopid ta unda stans annywazz.

So in other words I understand that some punks 18 credit hours of biology in college constitutes him as wise pertaining to the outdoors, but someone with fifty years of personal observation doesn't amount to anything. No amount of book learning can substitute experience or common sense, any of you who believe different should go back to school and see if you can find it. The arrogance of some here never fails to amaze me.

 

[dgibson]

Nobody's being arrogant but you, chief. No one ever said cjcj or you or anyone else was stupid, and no one ever said they were omniscient. No one ever said that 18 hours of college biology makes you wise, or that book learning is a substitute for common sense and experience. What IS being said is that there are a lot of things that make up wisdom, age being only one of them. You can be wise without age (although it is quite a bit more difficult), and you can be old without being wise (that's easy to do).

 

[Ithaca 37]

I hate to have to be the one to break the news to some of you, but getting older doesn't mean you'll automatically get wiser. I've known some real idiots in their 60s and 70s.

About the only reason they seemed wiser when they got to their 80s was they finally learned to keep their mouth shut.

 

[Troy Jones]

This is true, I am just saying that it is more often than not. If wisdom had to do with keeping your mouth shut Ithaca, quite a few of us wouldn't be very sharp would we?

 

[Michaelr]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I've known some real idiots in their 60s and 70s. About the only reason they seemed wiser when they got to their 80s was they finally learned to keep their mouth shut. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Interesting that you should say that Ithaca

 

[Mini Moose]

I never once saidthat you weren't wise, cj, i more or less stated that your i older than you are and so that constitutes i know more attidue was really annoying,

but now that you have said somethign about it, claiming that you "know" that buzz will need to use a tool to help him whne he gets older shows just how much wisdom you don't have, after 49 years you would think that you would know that noone can predict the future of themselves or others, you have shown how wise you really are by making yourself look like an ass on several occasions

I don't claim to be wiser than anyone, in fact i am not wise at all, wisedom does in many cases come with age but in your case cj i think age just brought arrogance to you, go back to complaining about illegals cause that seams to be what you are wise about and none of the rest of the site knows as much about them as you do so why don't you enlighten us with your "wisdom" on that subject