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Don’t Be Stupid, But Do Make Mistakes
For some reason, some seem to think being older automatically makes them wise… but stupidity doesn’t away that easily.
They say the main difference between temerity and caution is maturity. It is usually older folks that speak such nonsense to younger folks, as though stupidity were something that time alone could cure, as though older people were somehow immune to foolishness.
Admittedly, wisdom is related to time. It is impossible to make mistakes and learn from them unless enough time is given. However, it is very possible to make mistakes for an entire lifetime and learn nothing. We all know some individuals that respond to this pattern. Age will often make us wiser because it is rare to find those who learn fast. That said, I have met my unfair share (I do feel lucky) of exceptionally wise young people, some of them significantly younger than me, and I can tell what makes them different: they learn fast.
This is something I have always attempted to do myself: to learn fast and, whenever possible, to learn faster, faster than my previous self and faster than those around me. If wisdom is determined by time and mistakes, it is no surprise that those who learn fast become wiser before those who learn more slowly. Learning slowly, though, shouldn’t…