This is the fifth and last entry in a miniseries about wisdom.

Most of this wisdom miniseries focused on collective wisdom.  We can achieve collective wisdom by removing barriers such as systemic bias and misinformation.  Elections or referendums then aggregate the knowledge of an electorate.  Yet we can enhance our collective wisdom further by becoming wiser ourselves.  That depends in turn upon broadening and diversifying our knowledge.

The entry on Knowledge, Experience and Wisdom reveals the best type of knowledge comes from experience.  We best know humanity by broadening and diversifying our experiences with humans in person.  For my own part I have extensive experiences with academia, rural village living and nomadic living.  I live in a blue state but have walked across the country breaking bread with a plethora of red state folks.  These experiences exposing me to the grand diversity of America reinforced my belief in humanity.

No matter your belief, in humanity or other matters, broadening your experiences either challenges or reinforces your previous knowledge.  You may rethink.  You may be better equipped to defend what you still believe.  Either way you become the wiser about humanity by getting out rather than getting online.

The entry on Collective Wisdom Conditions indicted party platforms, political panderers and media pundits for undermining those conditions.  Become wiser by increasing the diversity of these sources while avoiding those that induce fear, anger and/or entitlement.  Limiting yourself to the inflammatory news sources you favor undermines both your wisdom and your health.

The entry on Systemic Party Bias revealed how we can be misled into seeing black as white, supporting a system over people and overestimating who shares our same views.  The entry championed being an unaffiliated voter, but let us extend this advice further.  Wed yourself to principles, not ideology.

Beliefs and behaviors created by a group form an ideology.  Beliefs and behaviors shaped by your experiences and human instincts form a principle.  “Might makes right” is an ideology created by groups who aspire to or embrace being mighty or entitled.  The “mighty” minority seeks to limit your experiences and knowledge to reinforce their own ambitions.  In your quest to become wiser, give citizens of the state the benefit of the doubt over agents of the state in affirmation of principles rather than ideology.

Please subscribe, share and like. You receive the White Paper for the Unenlightened Wisdom Project by subscribing. Get others to join and collaborate on this ten year journey from brain health to democracy. Eventually I will set up a forum here to gain the collective wisdom of like minded journeyers. The first volume of essays for the Unenlightened Wisdom Project will be released towards the end of the year. A supplementary pamphlet called Pandering and Punditry is available now at kirksinclair.com.