Harrison West

Debra Jizi
UWRT 1102-29
April 12 2016
Does Wisdom Increase with Age?
When I think of someone that embodies wisdom I think of my great
grandfather. He fought in World War II, ran a successful business for thirty years,
and has probably read more books than most librarians. I celebrated his 100 th
birthday with him a couple of months ago and never felt more respect for
someone in my life. As long as I can remember hes been a person that seemed
to almost ooze with knowledge, knowing a little about almost anything youd ever
want to know. At his birthday celebration he stood up to give a toast thanking his
guests. He capped off his speech by informing us we were all going to enjoy
real carrot cake paired with his favorite ice cream. However his huge smile
faded and he suddenly paused with a blank stare on his face. It became
apparent that he couldnt remember his favorite ice cream. Someone hastily
reminded him that it was of course peppermint flavored and as youd expect the
party resumed without much acknowledgement of the incident, but it left me
questioning wisdom, intelligence and the human mind.
A man full of so much knowledge couldnt remember something hed
conceived on his own. I began to wonder could there be a limit or peak to
someones knowledge before it starts to deteriorate? Is age really a prerequisite

for wisdom? Does wisdom really increase with age? Ive met a fair share of
elderly people that lack wisdom completely and Ive met young people who have
snippets of wisdom themselves. The whole experience left me with questions
that I wanted to find the answers to, hence this journey.
I dont believe there is just one definition of wisdom. When I think of
wisdom I initially think of intelligence, knowing the right thing to say at the right
time. Wisdom can be a lot more than that though. The understanding of human
nature, an ability to learn from experience, openness, superior judgment and
problem-solving skills are all characteristics of wisdom. (Edmonds 2) But
nowhere in my exploration of wisdom did I see the characteristic over 30 or
old. Yet as a society we always equate old age with possessing great wisdom. A
person of any age could posses these characteristics. I questioned if experience
played a major role in wisdom, as its the seemingly biggest difference between
old and young people. So I decided to do a little research and this is what I
found.
In Dr. Robert Sternbergs book Wisdom: Its Nature, Origins, and
Development he says, experience and maturity change merely the quality of
expression of wisdom, from simple to profound, without touching upon its
essence. (209) Meaning that the depth of a persons wisdom can change with
age but that it doesnt necessarily mean that the value of the wisdom is any
better. I found that to be interesting because in that case, wisdom could be
increasing with age but not in the way I was originally thinking. I always thought
that wisdom from someone with experience was superior to someone with lesser.

Are experiences even linked to age? Good, bad, subtle, or major

experiences can happen at any age and these experiences shape who we are as
people. Dr. Sternberg continues in Older but Not Wiser? The Relationship
between Age and Wisdom." to say that; sometimes experience also presents the
greatest risk to wisdom by putting ourselves in an atmosphere of stereotyping
and intolerance. (70) This contradicts the whole basis of the thought that wisdom
increases with age. By closing your mind to knew ideas and believing that your
way of thinking is the best, or the only way of thinking, youre immediately
diminishing your own wisdoms value. We all know people that have prejudices
and are stuck in their ways. We are all products of our own time. I began to think,
so if experience is not the answer to increased wisdom then what is?
In Dr. Charlotte Micklers article Personal Wisdom: Validation And AgeRelated Differences Of A Performance Measure, she says that wisdom is not
knowing abstract facts but having a self-knowledge or insight into a persons own
life. (10) This made me think that maybe its no longer a question of does wisdom
increase with age but does wisdom even increase? Or is wisdom simply always
changing because a persons life is always changing. If one can understand their
life in the present, what is to say that a person later on in their life cycle has more
wisdom than the other? I decide to ask myself what I was really interested in. I
wanted to know if wisdom is ever changing. And if wisdom is always changing, is
it age-related?
I found that my research raised more questions then I started with, but I
was able to get some answers. I agreed the most with the thought that wisdom

can increase as we age however it doesnt necessarily mean that the wisdom is
of a higher quality. The older we become, the greater the role wisdom plays into
our sense of knowledge and well-being. (Leland) I also liked the idea that wisdom
is not about knowing a little about everything but that its an understanding of
anothers life. By understanding others you have an incite into how they think and
feel, increasing you knowledge of people as human beings and increasing your
ability to provide wisdom. Monika Ardelt an associate professor of sociology at
the University of Florida said, that even as the brain slows down or memory
deteriorates, older people are often better decision-makers, recognizing patterns
or being more attuned to the effects of their decisions. (Leland) I feel that old
people have the upper hand on young people but not in the original way I
thought. This only backs that Ill continue to listen to my elders.
Before starting this inquiry project I felt that wisdom was interchangeable
with intelligence. I thought each age class had wisdom of varying degrees
without any clear bias. After concluding this inquiry project I have a much better
understanding of wisdom. I no longer equate intelligence with wisdom. I see
wisdom now as an understanding of my surroundings and the people in it. I have
a much better perspective of my world now and plan to be more cautious before
providing wisdom or my thoughts to others. I think its important for everyone to
understand wisdom. If anything by understanding what makes up wisdom it can
give perspective, a valuable trait in life. I dont know if there is a peak to wisdom
before it start to deteriorate. I still dont know exactly what wisdom is but I know
what it is for me.

Works Cited

Edmonds, Molly. "Do We Really Get Wiser with Age?" HowStuffWorks.

HowStuffWorks.com, 29 Oct. 2008. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Leland, John. "The Wisdom of the Aged." The New York Times. The New York
Times,
26 Dec. 2015. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Mickler, Charlotte, and Ursula M. Staudinger. "Personal Wisdom: Validation And
Age-Related Differences Of A Performance Measure." Psychology And
Aging
23.4 (2008): 787-799. PsycARTICLES. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
Sternberg, Robert J. "Older but Not Wiser? The Relationship between Age and
Wisdom." Ageing International. 30.1 (2005): 5-26. Print.
Sternberg, Robert J. Wisdom: Its Nature, Origins, and Development. Cambridge:
Cambridge UP, 1990. Print.