Perhaps there are some isolated cultures where the lessons learned during the lifetime of an elder are still held in high regard. Let's consult the wise one. Mostly, these would be groups where not much changes from one generation to the next and life goes on in pretty much the same way in pretty much the same place. China before it was opened to the West and the Australian outback come to mind. How you made your way through the day would surely benefit from the experiences of those who went before...but now?
At the start of the 20th Century, the average man knew how most things worked. Midway through, things began to change. By the time the 21st Century approached, there were few lessons that still applied. The sword became an AK 47 while the family unit fragmented and moved away. Bonds for life, such as marriages and occupations, turned into a game of musical chairs. One might well argue that not since the Agricultural Revolution of ten millennia ago has there been such a transformation.
And yet there are times when a few words of wisdom clearly top a high-speed Internet connection. The words of Lt. Gen. Hal Moore (A Tender Warrior) are a good example. General Moore, who served with distinction during the Vietnam conflict, was known for being first in and last out. Never one to shirk a battle, today he mourns every one of his men lost. His recalling in stark detail how, with a muddy, bloody hand, he shut a fallen troopers eyes for the last time...knowing that the boy's mother was no more than 36 hours from the same wrenching trauma, should give pause to leaders considering hostilities. But technology has a way of getting in the way of such a scene. A missile-firing drone flying miles from its target has a tendency to make the reality on the ground little more than a computer game in a military complex 12 time zones away.
However, that's not to say wisdom is on the way out and no one cares. A recent Archives of General Psychiatry reports on work by Jeset & Meeks designed to map the neural connections underlying examples of wisdom. Traits typically associated with a state of what might be called Acquired Knowing included - but weren't limited to - tolerance, stability, judgment and knowledge. Areas of the brain previously tied to such behavior did, indeed, show heightened levels of activity during trials. The question now is: Can wisdom be encouraged, elevated and enhanced?
A little known fact is that wisdom seems to be the direct opposite of creativity. Young people, full of energy and blessed with time to recover from errors, are apt to try and sometimes succeed at projects their older mentors were certain would fail. It's said that physicists need to make their mark by 30 or forget it. Computer wunderkinder have been known to excel even earlier. On the other hand, some musical composers move from creativity to wisdom without ever burning out. That seems to be the ideal pursuit for growing old gracefully. Like wine, you just get better over time.
Wisdom is naturally associated with age because it allows one to relax in quiet repose. You know how everything works and thus you never need to reach an inch. Your job is telling others how to do their job. The idea of try, try again is anathema to a sage. But what happens when the world changes so fast that lessons learned no longer apply? With technology going twice as fast at half the price, you might as well ask your cat as ask your dad and grand dad is still trying to figure out his 8-trak.
Look At It This Way
With ancient philosophy rapidly being replaced by bumper sticker ideology, even if we knew how to encourage, elevate and enhance wisdom...would we? You have to wonder, when we finally get our brand spanking new world, who's going to tell us how to work it?
