Being Smart Doesn't Mean Being Wise

LWF101 – Being smart doesn’t mean being wise – Transcript\nCraig 00:01 

Before we get into today's episode, I have a sad announcement to make. Last week we lost our little dog Maggie, our border collie mix. She had just turned 17 years old. She was fine one minute, had a stroke and then we lost her. Maggie, I'll never know a better dog, and I'll never stop missing you. 

Smart people are not always wise. You’ve probably known somebody like this. They’re really smart, but they do dumb things. In this episode, I explain why this happens and dig into the differences between intelligence and wisdom, so that you can avoid the intelligence-wisdom gap.\nWelcome to Live Well and Flourish, where I help you understand what it means to live a flourishing life. I'm your host, Craig Van Slyke. If you're ready to think beyond material and external success, if you're ready to take control of who you are and the kind of life you live, if you're ready to flourish, this is the podcast for you.

Craig 01:13 

Recently, I was watching some Netflix show and one of the characters said something like, “Smart people aren’t always wise.” That’s a pretty insightful comment; one that’s worth exploring. So, today I want to talk about the differences between being smart and being wise. Since I’m interested in practical wisdom, that’s what we’ll focus on today. By the way, I talked about practical wisdom in episode 79. You can check it out at livewellandflourish.com/79.

You’ve probably known someone (or maybe several someones) who are smart, but sometimes they make terrible decisions and do stupid things. Unfortunately this is a common occurrence. There’s even a book called “Why Smart People Do Dumb Things.” There are a lot of reasons smart people do dumb things. They might overestimate their intelligence, especially when they step out of their areas of true expertise. They might be misled by hubris or their emotions or they might be blind to important contextual factors. But these don’t fully explain why smart people sometimes are not wise.

Craig 02:25  

Unfortunately, during election season, we’re likely to be exposed to lots of examples of smart people acting without wisdom. Zero-sum political rivalries are the epitome of being smart (maybe) without being wise. Sure, maybe party X might win, but often at the cost of the greater good. And that's not wise, not wise at all.

But we can see examples of smart people acting without wisdom in most aspects of life.

-         Social media influencers who burn themselves out in the pursuit of clicks and likes.

-         Click-bait headlines designed to drive Internet traffic rather than inform.

-         Lying to a friend or loved one to avoid an unpleasant, but necessary encounter.

-         Business executives who are driven by short-term profits over larger concerns.

-         Relentlessly sticking to one’s position in an argument without consideration of the damage it might do to relationships.

Craig 03:24 

The list could go on and on. We’ve all been guilty of some of these, even though we might know better. Why?

To understand why smart people aren’t necessarily wise all the time, let’s look at what it means to be smart.

What does it mean to be smart? That’s a surprisingly complicated question. There are many different forms of “smart.” We’ve all heard the difference ​between being “book smart” and “street smart.” But it goes deeper. Let’s break down some different types of being smart. First, though, I want to mention that I’m using “smart” and “intelligent" interchangeably here, although you could argue that they’re different concepts. The differences aren’t important for our purposes, though. OK, what are some of the different ways someone can be smart:

Craig 04:14  

-         Someone can be book smart. Usually when we say someone is book smart it means that they have a large body of knowledge, typically gained through formal education and/or systematic study (self-education). Usually this takes the form of learning from books, lectures, and the like rather than through practical experience. Book smart people usually involves strong memory and recall abilities, coupled with analytical and critical thinking skills, especially within their areas of expertise and knowledge.

-         Some people are street smart. Street smarts are acquired through life experiences. Someone who is street smart is great at navigating real-world experiences. They understand people and social dynamics and can solve practical problems effectively, often in very clever and resourceful ways.

-         People can also be socially smart. These folks are great with people. They almost intuitively grasp the dynamics of complicated social situations. They can read people well and are highly empathetic. Socially smart people are also effective at interpersonal communication, especially when it comes to reading non-verbal social cues. They can adapt their communication styles to suit almost any situation. A socially smart person is typically very persuasive.

Craig 05:38 

There are other types of intelligence, such as musical or artistic intelligence, but I think we can move on. All forms of intelligence share some common elements:

-         The ability to process certain types of information quickly and effectively

-         The ability to effectively solve problems within the area of their intelligence.

-         The potential for creativity and innovation, and

-         Adaptability and the ability to learn

That’s a pretty awesome list of characteristics. So how then can smart people fail to be wise? Well, intelligence is missing a few important things and these lead to the gap between intelligence and wisdom. So what’s missing? Let’s start by looking at my personal definition of practical wisdom. I'm sure I've pulled this together from things I've read but I was not able to find any source for this.

Practical wisdom is applying the right knowledge at the right time in the right situation for the right reasons.

Craig 06:41 

The key part of this definition is “for the right reasons.” What that means is that your actions are driven by appropriate core values and virtues. When I teach the data-information-knowledge-wisdom hierarchy in my classes, I define wisdom as the application of knowledge for the greater good. Wisdom is “big picture;” acting with wisdom means taking the larger view, both in terms of the impacts of your decisions and in terms of time. Wisdom plays the long game. OK, so now you have some idea of what wisdom is. Let’s talk about what wisdom is NOT.

Wisdom isn’t selfish. True wisdom transcends self-interest. Yeah, wisdom should consider personal impacts, especially on your flourishing, but it must has to consider the impacts of your decisions on others. And not just immediate others. True wisdom considers ripple effects as well. Remember, wisdom isn’t just about you, it’s about the greater good.

Craig 07:48 

Wisdom isn’t arrogant. Wisdom is humble. Look, we’ve all been wrong before and we’ll all be wrong again. Smart people who are not wise may cling to their beliefs, even when they’re wrong. Smart people often HATE to be wrong; it kind of violates their self-image. But a wise person sees a mistake for what it is, a chance to learn.

Wisdom isn’t static. Speaking of learning, wise people are constantly learning and adjusting their beliefs. Unwise smart people often double-down on mistakes but wise people examine what led to the mistake so that they can adapt and learn; they relentlessly extract wisdom from their errors.

Wisdom isn’t expedient. Or maybe I should say isn’t JUST expedient. I said it before, but it’s worth repeating. Wisdom takes the long view. Some Native American cultures engage in something called seven generation thinking. When facing a decision, they don’t just think about current impacts, they think about the impacts on future generations as well. It's kind of interesting, they also consider whether their decision will honor their ancestors. That sounds pretty wise to me.

Craig 09:07 

Wisdom isn’t inflexible. Wise people know that they have to adjust to the current situation. Different situations may call for different actions. But, wisdom IS inflexible when it comes to sticking to virtues and values. Wisdom strives to NEVER act contrary to virtues and values. That being said, a wise person continually reflects on their virtues and values, not only asking if they’re living up to them, but also asking if they’re pursuing the correct virtues and values.

Wisdom isn’t purely intellectual. Wisdom requires knowledge and intellect, but it’s not just about the intellectual. Knowledge, especially self-knowledge, is the foundation of wisdom, but it’s not all of wisdom. Reason is important to wisdom, but wisdom also considers the heart. Wisdom isn't a slave to reason and intellect; intuition also matters. Wisdom understands that the world is rarely a black-or-white place; there are always shades of gray to consider. Wisdom blends rational thought with emotional intelligence and a well-developed instinct for understanding what is right, good, and moral.

Craig 10:22 

Wisdom isn’t timid. Wisdom isn’t afraid to do what’s right and it’s immune to peer pressure. Wise people have tremendous moral courage. Doing what’s right isn’t always popular, acting with wisdom can carry risks, sometimes significant risks. Wise people understand these risks, but they also know that the risks of not doing the right thing are far more important. Acting contrary to wisdom not only hurts others, it’s fatal to your flourishing.

Wisdom isn’t isolated. Wisdom is wisdom because it occurs in the world. Wisdom is about community; it’s about collective good. As I’ve said before, wisdom without action is dead. Wisdom is no hermit; wisdom engages with the world in order to make the world better, one wise act at a time.

Craig 11:19 

OK. So now we understand a bit more about wisdom and how it’s different from intelligence. But, how can you avoid being smart without being wise?

You have to cultivate wisdom. Cultivating wisdom is work; you can’t just flip a switch, listen to a lecture or read a book and be wise. It doesn't work that way. In many ways, like flourishing, wisdom is an ongoing journey. Wisdom isn’t a state of being, it’s an activity.

So how can you cultivate wisdom? Well, here’s my formula:

Self-knowledge + Experience + Reflection + Action = Wisdom

Earlier I said that knowledge is the foundation of wisdom. To be wise, you need to know yourself. You need to know what you believe. You need to know what you value. You need to know what virtues you seek. You need to know who you want to be. Without this knowledge, you’re the proverbial rudderless boat. You’re just drifting along randomly, the victim of wind and tide. (I love that expression!)

Craig 12:31 

Wisdom is gained through experience. You become wise through experiences, good and bad. That's why it’s important to seek new experiences. Experiencing new things is central to growing your wisdom. Wisdom doesn’t get stuck in a rut, it actively seeks new experiences in order to better understand the world and how your actions affect it.

Reflection transforms experience into wisdom.  We learn when we reflect. It’s not enough to just have new experiences, you need to ponder them in the context of your virtues and values. To cultivate your wisdom, you need to think critically about your actions, what led to those actions, and how your actions affected others. Reflection is especially important when you make a mistake. Reflection turns errors into learning.

Craig 13:23 

Wisdom requires action. Yeah, I know, I’ve said this already. But to cultivate wisdom you need to understand that you don’t just think about what wisdom dictates, you need to act with wisdom. Action is how you test your wisdom against the complexity of the world. Wise actions are the payoff to your knowledge, experience, and reflection. Action is when the hard work pays its dividends for you and for the world. 

So, now you’re well-equipped to make sure that you’re not only smart, you’re wise. Here are three things you can do this week to cultivate wisdom.

My first suggestion is to take some time to clarify your virtues and values. There are a number of ways you can do this. One of my favorites is to pretend that someone asks a good friend about you. Something like, “What’s Craig like?” Ideally, how would you like your friend to describe you? What values would you want them to mention? What characteristics would you want them to use to describe you? Write these down so that you can revisit and revise your virtues and values list over time.

Craig 14:37  

You can expand on this by picking three or four of the virtues or values from the first activity, and writing down why these are important to you. Really dig deep on this. Think about how your flourishing is affected when you live up to, or fail to live up to, those virtues and values. You might want to have a little gap, allow a little time between the first activity and this one. When you do these right, they can be pretty intense, so it’s a good idea to give yourself a bit of a break.

Finally, try a “count to ten” exercise. Yea, I know this is trite, but it's important. One hallmark of a lack of wisdom is acting impulsively. At least once this week (and I'm sure you'll have opportunities to do this), pause before you do something and consider two things, what are the longer-term consequences of what you’re about to do, and does this action live up to the virtues and values that are important to you. You may find that you wanna take a different approach.

Craig 15:41 

I’ll close with a caution and a quote. The caution is to allow yourself grace when you make mistakes. There WILL be mistakes, if you’re like, there will be lots of them. When you do make an error in wisdom, don’t get down on yourself, just learn and move forward.

The closing quote is often attributed to Maya Angelou, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

Until next time, don’t just be smart, be wise my friends.

I produce Live Well and Flourish because of my dedication to helping others live excellent lives. I don't accept sponsorships and I don't want your money. The only thing I want is to help you and others flourish. If you've received some value from this episode, please share it with someone that might also benefit from listening. The best way to do that is to direct them to livewellandflourish.com

Until next time.