Illumination
(Edited; 31th Oct 2006. Ed’s note: Linkage.)
Sometimes, we’re so caught up in how comfortable the mud feels that we don’t realize what’s good even if water is splashed on our faces.
A wise old owl lived in an oak
The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why can’t we all be like that wise old bird?
(Credits to Stev for bringing it up)
What makes one intelligent, wise, clever, smart, and brilliant? These adjectives seem to sum up the same kind of phenomenon which is intelligence, except, perhaps, “wise”.
Intelligence, so far, is the brainchild of knowledge. Reading cures illiteracy. Churn out all the information you want from knowledge and people would assume you’re a genius. E=MCsquare. To be or not to be. All that bollock.
Knowledge doesn’t have to make sense. It’s just information which logic is harder to break, that’s all. Get the wrong sort of information and you’ll be none the wiser. Even better if you’re too stubborn for your own good.
Somehow, there is some sort of acceptance among the wise as to what Logic is all about. There is no need for a formal education. It feels so natural that it’s almost universal.
There is a good reason why common sense is called common sense, though it’s not very common in the world.
Logic. The rule. Of life. Anywhere, anytime. In life, it usually shows up in broken pieces. Like puzzles waiting to be solved.
Wise are those who can see the puzzles in their right places. The jigsaw puzzle on the whole. They don’t have to fix it but they can tell where each puzzle should go.
The quicker you can see the big picture, the sharper your mind becomes. Quick-witted and whatnot.
Yet, the more details you can see, the wiser you seem to be. Even better if you can understand the colours and texture for what they are.
And because the puzzles of life are never the same, it’s a pain in the ass mind trying to figure things out all the time.
Especially when the tried and tested doesn’t seem to work. To your knowledge.
Extremes kill. Experience teaches that.
With all this in mind, I’ll say this: You were right. I know you well. It’s no excuse but I’ve come to terms with that. Hence, perhaps it’s time that I stop. Take a break. A long, good one. After all, it wasn’t as if I didn’t know this might happen anyway.
I gave this advice to someone the other day and it hit me: Sentimentality should not hold one back from doing what’s good for themselves.
Knowing what I am capable of, I almost couldn’t believe that I took this long to realize it for what it’s worth.
I was none the wiser but I won’t apologise this time. At least I’ve now seen my flaws in the light I should see.
Correct me if I’m wrong.
–
On a lighter and relevant note, I’ve just read most of The Catcher in the Rye for my overdue (by 2 weeks) American Literature assignment. I love this excerpt:
I used to think she was quite intelligent, in my own stupidity. The reason I did was because she knew quite a lot about the theatre and plays and literature and all that stuff. If somebody knows quite a lot about those things, it takes you quite a while to find out whether they’re really stupid or not.
You can jolly well find examples in my Bodohland series (especially this and this) and certain comments by some flamers. O:)
If you haven’t realized by now, a point of this post is to show that:
Stupidity is the lack of wisdom, not knowledge.
Quotes of the day:
“It’s so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don’t say it.”
- Sam Levenson
#63. The fool who knows his foolishness, is wise at least so far. But a fool who thinks himself wise, he is called a fool indeed.
- The Dhammapada
Now I really understand the reason why you’ve been concerned so much about intelligence in people. It’s mainly about the encounters that you’ve been through your lifetime.
Though, I seem to look at intelligence a little differently. Maybe cause I never met so many bodohland-ers as much as you did.
Frus
October 26, 2006 at 6:59 am
Its hardly ever about speed.
Its about the depth of the puzzle that one is capable of understanding.
bodicea: A mistake corrected. Thank you.
Dreamfall
October 26, 2006 at 10:47 am
mud between our toes sounds kinda fun (and kinky)… until you really are in the actual situation
thus intelligence is observing that it may actually not be that fun… while wisdom is having already been thru that shit before thus knowing that it really is not fun
bodicea: “The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.” -Oscar Wilde
i believe that logic does exist everywhere. but the price we pay is to lose our sense of bewonderment – becoming cold calculative logical beings. thus stripping ourselves of what really is to be human.
bodicea: Which is why I think innocence is a fragile commodity.
now if only we could do what was good not just for ourselves but for all whom we care for
bodicea: What is just is rarely fair.
ps. like the quotes
stev
October 26, 2006 at 11:10 am
>Sentimentality should not hold one back from doing what’s good for themselves.
I like that sentence. A lot. I’ll need to remember that!
merv
October 26, 2006 at 4:02 pm
Yes, even though we may be sentimental, but I do agree that we should do good for ourselves beforehand.
And Logic really cannot be paired up with Emotions. But I do wonder what will happen if we pair them up. Hah.
bodicea: Prolly some collision of mass destruction.
Dunno. Felt like saying that. Not thinking right now.
Kyels
October 28, 2006 at 1:56 am
Food here sucks.
Dreamfall
October 28, 2006 at 2:44 pm
Lionel (aka Space) is a very funny guy. I’d probably have stomach cramps for weeks from laughing my ass off if he had tried to chat me up on MSN.
bodicea: I felt my brains squelch instead.
Loong
October 29, 2006 at 12:19 pm
Love your two quotes of the day. They’re so true.
jemima
October 29, 2006 at 9:26 pm
I really love that poem about the owl – haven’t heard that in a long time – My mum used to say it.
heavenandheck
October 30, 2006 at 4:02 pm
[...] Lack of wisdom; stupidity. [...]
Poor who? « Honestly Dead
December 14, 2006 at 7:07 pm
The greatest danger our and future generations face is the over-influx of data (defined as raw information) over the internet. There is always a flip-side. My best buddy once shared with me a rule that i hold onto till now.
Pick up a cigarette box, ask the person across from you to tell you what they see. What they see and what you see are two totally different things. This illustrates that there is always a different side to a story.
The truth is out there. Collate all you can on any particular subject, distill it, refine it and you will discover the whole story. Hard to do with so much information congestion but is essential to live.
Also the catcher in the rye is the strangest book is ever read. The protagonist , whatever his name was, had the strangest mental swagger i ever encountered from a character. Also, in Conspiracy Theory (Mel Gibson) it was mentioned that for a number of assassins in the US, there were 2 commonalities. They all had three names and they all had copies of Catcher in the Rye in their personal libraries. Interesting.
2 cents worth…
Jason
January 23, 2007 at 9:17 am