Another failure to understand intellect from wisdom
I’ve heard many different explanations of intelligence vs wisdom, and I used to think it made sense.
Like, intelligence is raw processing power while wisdom is having the advantage of experience.
Or like a smart man looks for oncoming cars before crossing a one-way street, while a wise man looks both ways before crossing a one-way street.
But the more I know about the world, the less I think experienced people are necessarily wiser. They’re only wiser if they have the intelligence, clarity, and willpower to learn from their past.
So to me, it seems that wisdom is more like the area under the intelligence curve. Which would make them inexorably linked.
The way that makes the most sense for me is intelligence is related to external learning (books, from others, from detailed study of things, etc) whereas wisdom comes primarily from internal observation (self-reflection, personal experience, situational awareness, etc.)
Ding ding ding! This is why sorcerers and dragons relay on wisdom, and mages relay on intelligence. One is born with a gift, the other is learned. And I think, at least older DnD, did it right to have a mage be able to do more through study than a sorcerer would be able to muster on providence.
A clever fellow has a telescope. He sees what everyone else sees, but clearer and sooner.
A smart fellow has a microscope. He can see things no one else sees.
A wise man has a mirror.
Poor planning. Should have tried the cape on in advanced, it would have told him to study when there was still time.
But that would require the wisdom of forethought in the first place.
Or just curiosity
But then again, curiosity and wisdom often come as a package
Ok, cat.
Is it exceedingly uncommon to just read the material, not study beyond that, and still test well?
Not everyone learns the same way. Some people require tedious study to get the information to stick, while others can grasp the concepts and retain information when first presented.
The valedictorian of my high school class was one of the dumbest people I’ve ever met, but she spent an inordinate amount of time studying so she could regurgitate it on a test without actually understanding any of it.
