I used to say that the only thing worse than my memory was my hearing or vice versa—depending.

Today it is my memory. Last week, after two weeks of ‘Questions’, I said we would revisit wisdom, since questions are often the start of wisdom, forgetting that I just did two on wisdom in October. But that’s OK; you can’t have too much wisdom.

There is an old saying, “knowledge is wisdom;” the updated version is, “Data is not information. Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not understanding. Understanding is not wisdom.”

T.S. Eliot understood this when he said, “Where is wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”

Alfred, Lord Tennyson understood the difference when he said, “Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers.”

The ways to wisdom are varied and it is Confucius who best describes them, “By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the most bitter.”

Nietzsche tells us, “Wisdom sets bounds even to knowledge,” while Anthony Shaftesbury reminds us, “Giving advice is sometimes only showing our wisdom at the expense of others;” not a very nice use of wisdom.

But the final word goes to Charles H. Spurgeon who sums it up nicely, “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”

Flickr photo credit to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/541576567/

My best wishes on your special day to all the fathers reading this.

“Becoming a father is easy enough, but being one can be very rough” –Wilhelm Busch (And has nothing to do with furnishing the sperm.)

“When one has not had a good father, one must create one.” –Friedrich Nietzsche (This is for all you guys who have filled the father role for someone who needed it, whether for a few days, weeks or for life.)

“My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” –Clarence B. Kelland (Monkey see, monkey do and this leads us to the next bit of wisdom…)

“Every father should remember that one day his son [or daughter] will follow his example instead of his advice.” –Anon (See above.)

“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” –Mark Twain (This has to be one of the smartest things that Twain ever said—and that’s saying something!)

But it’s Wadsworth who really sums up parents and kids…

“By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.” –Charles Wadsworth

Have a wonderful day!

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Image credit: sean dreilinger on flickr