In this post, I won’t declare myself as a wise person, but will describe what I have observed as the steps required to reach wisdom. Let’s start with a logical poser.
Peter is looking at Mary, while Mary is looking at Paul. Peter is married. Paul is unmarried. Is a married person looking at an unmarried person?
a) yes b) no c) cannot be determined
Choose an answer: a, b or c. Are you sure? Check your thinking, but don’t leave this question until you are certain that your answer is correct. We will provide the answer later in this post.
One of the most striking differences I’ve observed between those who have acquired wisdom and those who are still some distance from that destiny is the time it takes to reach certainty. Those who are deep thinkers come to certainty on any issue after long observation, openness to alternatives and considering alternative views. Less capable people are more impulsive, reaching certainty based on brief observations, popular consensus and emotional comfort.
To measure your own voyage toward wisdom, examine how often you have revised your earlier opinions on issues based on new information. How receptive are you to opinions contrary to your own? The most intelligent and wisest people in our society revise their opinions continuously based on their ongoing observations of the facts. Einstein, originally a pacifist, after viewing the holocaust, rejected pacifism and acknowledged the need to use force to resist fascists. Highly intelligent people are able to discuss any issue dispassionately with a minimum of emotional reaction to those who have contrary beliefs. Scientists recognize that all knowledge is tentative and perceived truth is acceptable until it no longer fits observation. This is the humility that comes from high intelligence.
To encourage my students at the university to reach certainty more slowly, I introduced problems such as the Monte Hall dilemma. Based on the old quiz show, Let’s Make a Deal. It shows the counterintuitive nature of some probabilistic problems. When I shared this with my students, they would return to next class exclaiming how their family members refused to believe the result of the mathematical analysis. They reported that the discussions were often heated and sometimes unpleasant as people dug in deeply in support of their chosen answer.
The answer to the problem given at the beginning of this post is presented below in an excerpt from one of my books on intelligence.
Problems like those described above are vital in having people challenge their first intuition and move into rational mode when confronted with a conundrum. Sources of stimulating problems can be found in Jordan Ellenberg’s book, How not to be Wrong, and in Rob Dobelli’s book, The Art of Thinking Clearly. As Socrates recognized over 2000 years ago, the best way to stimulate thinking is through challenging questions. Socrates’ classic dialogue with Meno, reveals how we can help people discover things that we never thought we knew (unknown knowns) through the process of asking questions.
