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Wisdom Vs Intelligence

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Although many people use the terms wisdom and intelligence indiscriminately in everyday

life, they are not synonymous. When compared, they show some differences. The only thing they

have in common is that they both need the use of the mind and are tough to acquire. Intelligence is

the ability to combine the acquisition of new knowledge with the application of that knowledge in

a variety of settings. Wisdom, on the other hand, comprehends the meaning of information and

applies it to making sound decisions. Understanding knowledge and applying it to make smart

decisions distinguishes wisdom from intellect, regardless of the different appearing modest.

While many view intelligence as an admirable quality, intelligence may not always be good

because some exploit their intelligence for unethical reasons. Throughout generations, brilliant

men have made poor decisions that affected not only themselves but their peers as well. Those men

negatively used their intelligence by making rash decisions instead of considering the

consequences of their decisions. As a result, others suffered the consequences. Men of this nature

lack something important besides intelligence which is wisdom.

Unlike intelligence, one cannot gain wisdom through books but rather through experience.

You can learn in school how to become more intelligent; however, you cannot learn how to gain

wisdom. For example, a boy may perform well in school by getting good grades but make wrong

choices which led him into trouble. This shows that the boy has not had enough experience to

make a wiser decision. He will gain more wisdom depending if he decides to learn from his

mistakes and reflections. For someone to become wiser, mistakes must be made because they

improve one’s standards and ethics. Therefore, wisdom is putting good judgment, sound reasoning,

and knowledge into practice (Rezaei & Mousanezhad, 2020). It offers a person the insight to utilize

their knowledge and understanding to choose the best possible outcome. Regardless of popular

beliefs, you do not need intelligence to make wise decisions. For one thing, knowing how to shoot

a gun is intelligence but knowing when to shoot it is wisdom.

Wisdom and intelligence appear synonymous but mean two different things. One goes
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farther than the other in the knowing. Intelligence is the ability to acquire knowledge and skills,

whereas wisdom goes deeper and exercises that knowledge to make a good decision (Rezaei &

Mousanezhad, 2020). Everyone has a different form of intelligence, and they chose to exert their

intelligence either for good or bad. Experience leads to the growth of wisdom, so a wise man will

be intelligent too because he gained a lot of knowledge through making mistakes. Even though

these two terms contrast each other, one requires both to have balance in their life.
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References

Rezaei, A., & Mousanezhad Jeddi, E. (2020). Relationship between wisdom, perceived control of

internal states, perceived stress, social intelligence, information processing styles and life

satisfaction among college students. Current Psychology, 39(3), 927-933.