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High intelligence is not a guarantee that everything in life will turn out the way you want. Moreover: smart people in general often have a hard time – their brain plays cruel jokes with them. So, perhaps, in order for life to develop happily, it is much more useful to be not smart, but wise. What is the difference?
1. Comprehensive development
Smart people tend to know a lot about their area of specialization or core area of interest. Wise people draw knowledge from different sources and are little by little aware of everything. This does not make them “know-it-alls”, but opens up a huge field of possibilities.
It is known that many scientific discoveries were made by outsiders – simply because their way of thinking is less conservative, rigid, rigid. When we become experts in any field, this, in fact, ties our hands: it becomes very scary to change our minds and make mistakes, because this undermines our identity as an expert, our reputation is at stake.
Multidisciplinary thinking does not mean that you must be sure of your point of view and know exactly the answers to all questions, and this is liberating.
2. Ability to overcome your own bias
All of us, one way or another, tend to seek confirmation of our point of view. This means that if we are sure of something, then we will pay attention to any factors that convince us of our rightness, and ignore everything that can undermine our faith.
Fighting your own biases is extremely difficult, and, oddly enough, it is especially difficult for smart people to maintain objectivity, because they have a lot of facts and data at their disposal.
A wise person is able to discern his own bias, honestly ask himself if it interferes with his life, and if the answer is yes, at least try to cope with it.
3. Ability to understand reality
In a sense, this point is a continuation of the previous one: smart people often believe that they know the answers to all questions – including how to fix our imperfect world.
That is why they often make decisions that turn out to be nothing good: idealism blinds them and does not allow them to see reality – such as it is.
Wise people try to know the true nature of things. You can’t be 100% successful at this, but at least they try. They are optimistic, but by no means idealistic, and are able to recognize the fact that sometimes the best solution is to leave things as they are, instead of desperately trying to “do something at least”.
4. Ability to see beyond the first step
Alas, even the smartest people sometimes cannot calculate the consequences of their steps. Scholar and essayist Nassim Taleb calls such people INI – intellectuals, but idiots.
In his opinion, it is they who often advocate the overthrow of the dictator, without thinking that there is no one to replace him yet, and the resulting “emptiness” can lead to even more devastating consequences for the country.
Or they call for raising the average level of wages, without thinking about whether in this case money will be paid to at least someone. Wise people don’t make these kinds of mistakes.
5. Awareness of one’s own ignorance
As mentioned earlier, smart people are sure that they know everything. Wise people, as Socrates said, “know only that they know nothing.”
It is not difficult to distinguish one from the other: if a person has an answer to any question and a solution to any problem, including a global one, you definitely cannot call him wise. Wise people easily admit that they do not know something; smart people have a hard time with it.
Wise people never call themselves such: yes, they can understand that they know a lot and that their horizons are wide, but still they do not forget about their “blind spots”. Often they may consider themselves amateurs, but they learn quickly and willingly.
6. Ability to get what you want
Everything is simple here: if a person cannot live the way he wants, is he really as smart as he seems? If he can’t find happiness and/or meaning in life, what’s the use of his “mind”?
Wisdom helps us understand what we really want, move towards our goal, overcome obstacles, fall and get up, and so on until we get what we want.
Smart people often do not dare to go to meet their dreams. Any mistake puts their identity at risk, and often they prefer not to do anything at all – just so as not to stumble.
They also regard their failures as a sign of stupidity, while mistakes are our greatest source of experience and wisdom. Only by learning painful lessons can one become stronger, bolder, and better.