What is Wisdom? What makes a person wise? Is it what you do? Is it what one knows? How does wisdom differ from knowledge? Many people think “Wisdom” and “Knowledge” can be used interchangeably, but in fact, they are not at all the same, and should never be treated as so. They are two of the most misunderstood and misused words today.

So, what is wisdom? Some people believe wisdom is a word purely used for spiritual knowledge. Although it can be, it also can be used otherwise. Wisdom does not mean the same thing as knowledge either. You do, however, need to use the word knowledge to define wisdom. I believe that wisdom is the ability to make good decisions based on available knowledge. Notice I said available knowledge. One does not necessarily need to be smart and know all the facts of this world to have wisdom, but to have wisdom he needs to know how to make decisions based on his knowledge.

Mr. Andrews once said “A wise judgment, action, or decision is one that brings the greatest good to the greatest number, both in the short run and in the long run, while at the same time thwarting evil intentions and minimizing negative outcomes”. This is a great definition of wisdom. Thank you, Mr. Andrews. A wise person makes his decisions not only based on the short run, but makes ones that will help in the long run. He is able to make projections about the future.

As opposed to knowledge, wisdom comes from experience. It is not taught, nor can it be. It is not simply knowing facts, which is what knowledge is, but knowing how to use them in real life. While knowledge is needed to ace your tests and get good grades, wisdom is not. In comparison, knowing how to make good decisions for your business would be wisdom, not knowledge. Wisdom, however, is about making decisions based on knowledge, so to say you don’t need any knowledge at all would be wrong.

To have wisdom you also have to be able to make connections between components of knowledge. This is different from merely having knowledge. A wise man can think logically and reach logical conclusions based on knowledge. He can learn just by thinking to himself. For instance, if a wise man knew about the forces of friction and the properties of metal, he could invent the nail just by thinking and connecting the two. This is how most business ideas come about. Do business owners get taught businesses ideas from their teachers? Of course not! They take things they know and invent out of them.

Wisdom is also about knowing people. How they think, what motivates them, and how they react. This part sometimes can actually be learned from school, for instance, in a psychology class. Mostly, however, it is learned from socialization. From friends, parents, and even from enemies.

Although wisdom can often seem hard to define with all of its blurry edges, it should never be used carelessly. In fact I’ve found that the more I’ve studied wisdom the more blurry it seemed to be. It is very hard to find two people with the same definition of wisdom, but I hope this essay will help make it seem a bit more solid.