In the stories of all cultures the wise person in the story will most likely be an old one who calmly and ingeniously solves the problems others come to him/her with. There is a bit of correlation with reality here because, although there is no metric to measure wisdom as we measure IQ, it does seem that as we grow older we become more agreeable, conscientious due to all our responsibilities and more emotionally stable in regards of having to deal with multiple emotionally straining situations in the many years we’ve had been alive. This accumulates to a sort of wisdom the youth lacks. But, as a society we constantly make the logical mistake where wisdom and intellect are perceived as almost synonyms or one being natural condition for the other to emerge. Intellect and wisdom actually have very little correlation and are by no means the same, they are in most cases, especially in young people, mutually exclusive because there is a misbalance caused by… arrogance.

Arrogance is the abyss that many highly intelligent people fall into which prevents them from being wise. It causes them to see themselves as somehow superior to others and makes them believe knowing more means they can’t learn anything from those who don’t have highly abstract interest in ideas and knowledge. They become so specialized and hyper intellectual that they miss out on other areas of life and start to deform in such a way that they get bored at anything that doesn’t satisfy this curiosity, rendering all other nonintellectual interactions as invalid no matter their ethical utility or scope. This is how arrogance severs an intellectual form all other walks of life producing isolated specialized individuals.

Wisdom on the other hand doesn’t require a high IQ but it requires openness to be willing to expand yourself even where you feel uncomfortable. Wisdom needs a leap that only the humble can do. Because if you don’t see yourself as perfect or superior you’re willing to adapt, and it is much wiser to adapt and live than to stand rigid in despising anything that doesn’t fit into your little box. Being intellectual can give you great satisfaction in understanding the world and you should definitely strive towards more knowledge, but in that process don’t forget to stay humble. A large part of what constitutes life will not be found in books, research and podcasts or in any specific doctrine, but in the everyday wisdom of learning how to coexist with all those who might not share the same interests as you. The woman bringing your coffee might be the warmest most people oriented person you’ve ever met and an amazing mom, That old man selling produce on your market might not be able to hold his own in a discussion on Heraclitus but he sure as hell can make things grow and that are skills and wisdom you might not have. So step of your high horse here and there. We all have different abilities and you can learn from anybody.