Wisdom Paradox Discussion

“The brain and the mind go through stages in the course of a lifetime. Like the seasons of the year, the seasons of the mind are not separated by clear-cut absolute boundaries, but morph gradually and seamlessly into one another. So any attempt to link these boundaries to precise chronology is a matter of convention rather than of real biological discontinuities. Just as the change between seasons may vary from year to year to year (early summer one year, late spring another year), so too the exact timing of transition from one “season of the mind” to the next varies somewhat from person to person” (Goldberg, p.38-39). The three seasons Goldberg speaks of in the brain are development, maturity, and aging. The developmental stage starts at birth with the birth of neurons, and then goes through a pruning stage where the neurons are “eliminating everything that does not belong”. During this time, the brain develops skills and knowledge, and forms its own identity. In the stage of maturity, there is a greater stability of brain structures and the individual shifts from learning about the world to contributing to the world through activities and careers. The third stage, aging, the brain’s volume shrinks and the planning and organization of complex behaviors are affected. Considering Goldberg backs this information from research done by neuroscientists and based from Naftali Raz’s own research, I feel this information is valid.

“Genius and wisdom share the paradox inherent in their being extreme manifestations of the human mind. They are likely to exist among us unnoticed. The paradox is that both genius and wisdom may lead to conclusions so out of sync with the concepts and beliefs prevailing in society at the time that they are discarded as madness or even completely ignored, like babble in a foreign tongue” (Goldberg, p.75).  In other words, genius and wisdom must live in the comprehensible future and challenge prevailing beliefs. With these two traits, someone is able to be ahead of the times while still being able to connect the new with the old. According to psychologist Robert Sternberg, “To understand wisdom fully and correctly probably requires more wisdom than any of us have” (p.75). However, Sternberg studied how many people viewed the relationship between creativity and wisdom. Most people viewed this relationship as being positive with a weak link and connected this topic better with intelligence. Considering Goldberg’s studies are based off of research done by many physiologists, one being specifically Sternberg, I feel his inquiries are valid.

“Enter generic memories or “memories for patterns.” Every new exposure to the same or similar thing in the environment or, for that matter, to the same or similar information conveyed through language or by some other means, will breathe new life into the reverberating loop supporting the formations of memory about it, and will increase the memory’s chance of making it into long-term storage” (Goldberg, p.123). Over the course of one’s life, different memories compete for long-term space in the mind and it is not determined by the importance of the information, but rather, the frequency seeing, learning and using it. Larry Squire introduced the difference between procedural memory, the memory of skills, and the declarative memory, the memory of facts and determined that procedural memories are longer term. With the abundant generic memories stored throughout one’s life becomes wisdom for most. Considering Squire and other influencers such as Endel Tulving, introducing the difference between episodic and semantic memory, there are many valid researchers that back Golderberg’s studies about which memories become lifelong sources for wisdom. According to lninstitute.org, “Moving through middle age and beyond, the brain develops a vast store of “generic memories”—knowledge of the shared patterns in events or things. This reservoir gives older people an improved ability to size up situations and solve problems without going through the step-by-step assessments a younger person might need. Such pattern recognition underlies competence and expertise and can compensate for age-related declines in attention or memory. Pattern recognition can even amount to “wisdom”—basically, knowing what to do” (Silber, 2006).

The reliability of the information provided in this book is very trusting and there are many dependable and recognized scientists and psychologist’s with which Goldberg has referred to and quoted from research done throughout many years.

Works Cited

Goldberg, E. (2005). The wisdom paradox: How your mind can grow stronger as your brain grows older. New York: Gotham Books.

Silber, K. (2006). Lninstitute.org. The Wisdom Paradox: How Your Mind Can Grow Stronger As Your Brain Grows Older. https://lninstitute.org/20111203/neuropsychology/the-wisdom-paradox-how-your-mind-can-grow-stronger-as-your-brain-grows-older

Post 2: 
“Wisdom is the good news. Wisdom has been associated with advanced age in the popular lore of all societies and through history. Wisdom is the precious gift of aging” (Goldberg, p. 19, 2005). Goldberg is trying to discuss how achieving wisdom almost always leads to very positive outcomes. The more wisdom you achieve, the more advanced and skilled you become with age. Along with this, wisdom leads to greater life satisfaction and well-being in adulthood. I do believe that this statement does measure what Goldberg implies that is measures, as he uses several different sources to back up his claims.

“’The brain and the mind go through stages in the course of a lifetime. Like the seasons of the year, the seasons of the mind are not separated by clear-cut absolute boundaries, but morph gradually and seamlessly into one another” (Goldberg, p. 38, 2005). Goldberg states how the mind grows in three different ways. The first being through development, which is when the main cognitive abilities and skills are created, and they are characterized by drastic changes occurring in the brain. The second is maturity, which is characterized by less neural flux and greater stability of brain structures. It is the age of productive activity. Lastly, the third is through aging. This is when the brain goes through changes both physically and mentally. I do believe that this study measures what Goldberg implies that is measures, as it gives substantial evidence to back up his claims.
“Genius and talent are two points on the same curve of a cognitive trait.” “Wisdom and competence are two points on the same curve of another cognitive trait” (Goldberg, p. 78, 2005). Here, Goldberg states how there is something to take away from both genius and wisdom. Along with this, talent and expertise are very admirable traits. Talent is its own form of genius, and competence is its own form of wisdom. I do believe that this claim measures what Goldberg implies that it measures, as he assists his claims with research. Due to the amount of scientists, psychologists, physiologists, and researchers that assisted with the information displayed in this book, it is definitely a reliable source of information.

Sources:
Goldberg, E. (2005). The wisdom paradox: how your mind can grow stronger as your brain grows older. New York: Gotham Books.

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