The Information Superhighway will not lead us to wisdom.

Historically, wisdom came from living a long life.  You learned as you experienced and since the environment did not change much or change rapidly, knowledge gained over time was useful to the community as a whole.  A wise woman knew the plants that had healing and soothing properties.  A wise man knew when to plant and harvest and when to hunt so as not to deplete the game available to his children and grandchildren.  This wisdom was useful to the community and was valued, so that the wise man and the wise woman were valued.

In historical and village cultures, the elders were the repository of both knowledge and wisdom.  However, as technology evolves ever faster, more and more “knowledge” is being deposited outside of brains.  A hundred years ago, if you wanted to know something, you found someone who had already studied that subject:  you found a teacher or a mentor.  If they did not know what you wanted to know, at least they knew if someone else had done some research on the topic or if you would have to invent it or figure it out yourself.  Fifty years ago, if you wanted to know something, you could go to a library and look it up.

Now, to acquire knowledge, you turn to the Internet.  Everything one might want to know – and many things you probably don’t want to know! – can be found on the Internet.  As a result, the wisdom of community elders may not be perceived as useful by upcoming technologists and the importance of the wise man and wise woman may be perceived as limited for future progress.

While it is true that many of the current generation of elders may not be fluent in technology, that does not mean we do not have wisdom to share.  In spite of all of our advances in communication – email, blogging, texting, instant messaging – day-to-day personal human interactions have not changed that much.  We still can benefit from relationship advice and from the observations of our fellow human beings that the wise have accumulated over their years.

In addition, those of us who have reached advanced years with our brains, faculties, and resources intact, also know how to discriminate.  We know that not all information on the Internet is factual and can apply our reasoning skills.  We don’t assume that because it can be read or viewed on the Internet, it must be true.  This is a skill worth sharing!

In a village culture, everyone knew everyone else.  So everyone knew who had sense and who didn’t.  Who could think and who couldn’t.  Who could be trusted and who couldn’t.  Who kept his word and who didn’t.  In short: who was wise and who wasn’t.  In our current culture, this information is not so readily available.

Upcoming generations will need to figure out how to determine who has the wisdom we need now.  Note that I am saying wisdom, not knowledge.  You can find all the “knowledge” you want in books and on the Internet.  You get knowledge by asking questions: if you don’t know what questions to ask you are stuck.  But wisdom comes from linking knowledge.  So even if you know some starter questions, will you find the information you really need?

You can tell by looking at the sky that it is not raining.  You may be able to tell by looking at the sky that it will rain in a few hours.  But the wise person can look, not just at the sky, but at the movement of animals, plants, and insects to know that a major storm is brewing and how soon it will arrive – linking information that the ignorant will not think to ask about or look at.  We will lose a great deal if we do not find an alternative way to tap into this information.