Growing Older Doesn’t Make You Wiser As Age; Wisdom Have No Strong Statistical Relationship [Study]

Age has no strong correlation with wisdom, according to experts. One study seemingly suggests that the adage "with age comes wisdom" is just a saying and is not actually true.

Age and Wisdom

Being older does not automatically translate into wisdom, even if wisdom can and frequently does come with age, according to Dr. Judith Glück, a psychologist at the University of Klagenfurt in Austria, who has reviewed prior studies linking age with wisdom.

There are assumptions that age makes one wise, as depicted in numerous characters in major franchises. For instance, Gandalf in "Lord of the Rings," Dumbledore in "Harry Potter" and Obi-Wan Kenobi in "Star Wars." All of these wise characters are hundreds of years old.

However, Glück disagreed. She concluded that the "statistical relationships between wisdom and chronological age are not strong."

"Neither growing old nor accumulating life experiences is sufficient for growing wise," the expert said in the paper. "While many people associate wisdom with advanced age, becoming wise clearly requires more than 'just' growing old."

According to her, people do not simply become wiser over time in the same way everywhere; rather, there is no universal trajectory of wisdom development. "life experiences," not time, lead to the formation of wisdom, although these are not exclusive to the elderly.

"Whether and how much individuals grow towards wisdom depends on individual constellations of life experiences and intrapersonal and interpersonal resources," she added.

"Accumulated life experience is an important foundation for wisdom, but not all highly wise individuals are old and many old individuals are not particularly wise."

Memory, Wisdom Declines With Age

The report noted that wisdom declines as we age because a few components, like the ability to grasp complex problems or regulate emotions in stressful emotions, do. Additionally, the characteristics of wisdom, like openness, compassion, and emotional regulation, tend to change with age.

Oscar Wilde said, "Sometimes age comes alone" without wisdom, and a recent study seemingly supported it.

Just like wisdom, some tend to be forgetful when they age. However, Boris Konrad, a neuroscientist and World Memory Champion who holds several Guinness World Records, shared some brain training exercises to improve memory.

According to Konrad, improving memory is a skill that can be acquired. Utilizing and testing your memory is the most crucial thing you can do to keep it healthy. A few times a week, he likes to play memory sports quickly. To do it, he would memorize 100 digits or a deck of playing cards in a minute.

He uses mnemonics, short mindful exercises, and his surroundings to train his mind to remember things easily. Mnemonic includes mapping out a familiar location in your mind. You pinpoint specific turning places along the route, attributing a single fact to each.

Then, you revisit your memory palace and reinforce each association after assigning all your important destinations. The more times you engage in this technique, the stronger these associations will become.

According to Konrad, their research shows that just six weeks of daily practice with such mnemonics causes changes in neural networks and increases the effectiveness of neuronal coding for stronger memory function.

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