Mod. 5.4 - Wising up to the Unknowable

Watch the following short video (4:17 minutes) on the difference between knowledge and wisdom by Nikhil Reddy.

Use the following prompts for reflection on your wisdom quotient:

Wisdom starts at the limits of knowing.

• What does this mean to you in your life?

Wisdom is what helps you take the next step when you don't know where you're going or which way to turn.

• How does this relate to how you approach life and work?

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In my life, I've found that wisdom begins when one begins to advance beyond the “What” of something to the other formative questions of “Who” “How”, and “Why”. The “Where” and “When” are also important, but personally I find they exist more in the temporal realm alongside the “What”. These other questions allow us to look at what lies underneath the surface of the “What” to understand what it is made of, how it got to be made of those components, and why it matters. I’ve found that this deeper examination provides answers to common adages such as “where the magic happens” and “how the sausage gets made”. They contain the fundamental processes by which millions and sometimes billions of people experience something.

For me, that view works in tandem with my solutions oriented approach to creative problem solving. Essentially, I try to understand the elements of the “Who, How and Why” as they are relevant to whatever situation or problem I might be trying to solve, without getting fixated on them, so their respective components are both understood and accounted for in whatever solution I might apply to the “What, Where, and When.” What this looks like in practice is a combination of research and exploring potential solutions to create multiple paths by which a solution is ultimately decided upon and executed. While this process might appear tiresome or perhaps futile to some since energy is invested in work that never takes place, I have found the consistent application of it has not only made it easier to do, but creates greater consistency and cohesion in project management and problem solving long term.