Beginner’s mind
…The counterintuitive idea from [[Zen]] Buddhism that [[wisdom]], even enlightenment, comes from seeing the world as we did…
Contents
Colloquially, wisdom is an acquired awareness of what matters most in situations, a defense against illusion.
MIT neuroscientist Matt Wilson (via Maria Popova):
Wisdom is the rules, based on experience, that allows us to make good decisions in novel situations in the future.
Perhaps the most important of those decisions is whether to act at all:
Wisdom lies in correctly discerning where we are free to mold reality to our desires and where we must accept the unaltered with tranquility. (Seneca)
Wisdom is awareness of one’s ignorance
In 426 BCE, the oracle at Delphi proclaimed Socrates the wisest person alive for knowing that he knows nothing. In the words of Diogenes Laërtius, “he knew nothing except just the fact of his ignorance.”
Collected Wisdom
- Kevin Kelly’s “103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known” on the occasion of his 70th birthday
- Merlin Mann’s collected wisdom on Github
- Author Neil Postman’s advice on how to live the rest of your life
- The Marginalian’s Maria Popova’s 13 lessons on life and writing
Mentions
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the one you feed
…You Feed](https://www.oneyoufeed.net/), a podcast about practical [[wisdom…
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dancing with systems
…useful, least harmful ways: > 1. Get the beat. > 2. Listen to the wisdom of the system. > 3. Expose your [[mental models]] to the open…
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challenges are opportunities
…obstacles are not really obstacles. They are an accelerator of [[wisdom]], of aspiration. From Rilke (via John O’Donohue): > Difficulty is…
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as simple as possible, but no simpler
…Philosophy > To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain [[wisdom]], remove things every day. (Lao-Tzu…
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Stay curious
…you see them” turns conflict into collaboration. A bit of [[wisdom…
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philosophy
…philosophy comes from the ancient Greek meaning "a love of [[wisdom]]". When I majored in philosophy in college, I was taught…