Knowledge and wisdom

Let us start with knowledge : it has a quantity and a quality to it, obviously.

Before you interfere and say: quantity does not matter let me say that it does matter. It matters if someone has read thousands of books on a subject and the person he is talking to has read none of these or others on the subject at all. The conversation would hardly go to well(if it is not a teacher and a pupil). But the processing of the knowledge is key-only if you understand and translate what you read with your experience of the world it will be of real worth. That does not mean utter subjectivity or bias but being willing and able to let even more "information" into your world than you already have to by living and working in a complicated world. It means to open up to more than newspapers and conversations with people or random listening to radio and so forth. Books still make a difference when you know why you read them. In my opinion novels, poetry are very important for the development of knowledge and insight . To start with the classics of world-literature is not wrong and can be considered of being basic in gaining knowledge about human life, which is more than technical information. Art, music is crucial as well, but that would be another article.

Opposing viewpoints on worldevents, politics, even basic philosophy are huge triggers and discussed issue these days. But it makes no sense really if people do not KNOW enough about any subject to make up their minds. Many people are FED opinions, so to speak, without doing their own research or the knowledge how to do so. The quality of knowledge comes in when after some time of diving deep into any subject of interest you finally understand something about the field of interest. This is a humbling experience as it shows how much time and sincere work needs to be done, insight and outside to get closer. Many informations have to gathered and also be put aside again to come to the point in some sense. With just information this cannot be done. Knowledge is the key to understand anything in the world, hopefully apart from any ideology.

Wisdom is a step further- it is NOT a step beyond knowledge, but a step above. It is able to transcend the duality of viewpoints and find a "higher" third viewpoint. It still has nothing to do with "emotions", although they need to be integrated for being able to have a share with wisdom. Wisdom is- a human being can step into it. Humans cannot create it themselves. They can be knowledgeable but not wise when they want to. It can be trained, but through stillness and learning and humbleness. It is a grace when it appears.

Proverbs 16:16 

"How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver."