KNOWLEDGE IS KNOWING A TOMATO IS A FRUIT. WISDOM IS NOT PUTTING IT IN A FRUIT SALAD

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The above quote by Brian O’Driscoll signals a deeper understanding of knowledge and wisdom and thereafter distinguishes the two in a unified way.

Knowledge begins from knowing which encompasses a thorough process of obtaining details, particulars, and what’s what.

When we receive a description of a specific thing, there begins a system of acquiring, reflecting, and transforming.

In today’s world, to have the information from around the globe, rather,  the universe is indispensable, yet that reception does not amount to the knowledge itself. In fact, it is only when we sit back, reflect and churn on our knowledge, it becomes our comprehension. Furthermore, having the discretion of when and where to apply that knowledge determines our wisdom.

Let us take the analogy of making butter from curd. When we have the curd in our hands and our mission is to derive butter out of it, we ought to follow an orderly process. Curd denotes the raw form of information followed by knowledge. Once we begin to stir and skim, a new formation starts to appear which in this case is the butter we were looking for and the transformation stands for wisdom.

A very critical point here is that one must have an understanding of the dose and chance of application of this wisdom. It is of utmost value to know the right occasion and right amount to administer the applied knowledge to a given situation and bridge the gap between the two simultaneously. Just like consumption of an untimely and unbalanced proportion of butter can lead to unwelcome situations such as indigestion or obesity, forceful incorporation of unsolicited wisdom can also prove treacherous.

Enlisting the factors that play significant roles in applied wisdom are these question words: why, how, what, and most importantly, who.

The first three questions are what we are always confronted by, but the last ‘who’ is something that demands some of our attention. When we know why something is required, how it must be accomplished, and what is particularly needful, the uncertainty that sees our path is ‘who’ is apt to bring attainments to the condition. Prudence is the most essential feature in this scenario.

Without dragging this concept additionally, let me induce you into an interesting story, and this is my most favorite part too.

Once there was a peasant and his son who went on a getaway in the countryside. As the night set down they fixed their tents and got inside to have a goodnight’s sleep. In the middle of the night, the peasant comes to his son and asks him to look upwards and tell what he sees. The son does as asked and replies that there is a dark blue sky filled with illuminated innumerous stars. The farmer further asks him what else he can observe, to which the son answers that there are constellations and also some aircraft. He further elaborates on the vastness of the universe explaining the other galaxies and whatnot!

After an ample description of the celestial world, the peasant finally utters, “all that is true and very knowledgeable of you son, but did you notice that our tent is not over our heads, it is stolen?” 

So, the moral of the story is that it is wonderful and fascinating to have a curiosity to know of the explored and unexplored but wisdom lies in knowing whether that knowledge is needed at given circumstances or not, and if at all it is, then scanning of the scene and determining the measure of a needed piece of wisdom is what decides one’s craftiness; one’s sagacity.