Wisdom

By any measure spending a glorious fall afternoon in front of a TV is what we should consider unwise, so that's what I did immediately upon finishing this book: I (re)watched Errol Morris's documentary “The Fog of War”. It was almost a compulsion... during much of the book I found myself thinking of McNamara. And it worked: they blended well together. And, appropriately, what I got out of both was more questions than answers.

I found “Wisdom” disappointing – but come on, Who could do justice to a topic as weighty and as elusive? Hall meanders, first summarizing the state of research into wisdom (precious little, with many tales of frustration) before launching into the meat of the book: Hall's breakdown of the components of wisdom. Patience, humility, morality, altruism, equanimity each get their chapters. Much interplay between them, and a little discussion of the hows and whys, but I left the book thinking conflicting thoughts: one, I didn't really learn much, and two, I need to read it again in a year. With time, and with time to follow up on the references. I think I was too quick – this is a book that merits pondering. More: it merits discussion. Yes, that's it: it needs thought, discussion, pausing for reflection.

Find someone you respect. Read and discuss together, a chapter at a time. Let me know how that works for you, because I think I want to try that.