Six questions that show if you’re wise
How wise are you?
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Your support makes all the difference.Wisdom means different things to different people.
For some, it’s understanding the root of quantum physics, for others, it’s defining a Horcrux in Harry Potter.
For Dilip Jeste, though, it boils down to a series of six questions, which the psychiatry professor believes is all you need to measure just how wise someone really is.
Jeste and his colleagues at the University of California, San Diego have created The San Diego Wisdom Scale, which identifies wisdom as consisting of six qualities: practicality, offering good advice, self-awareness, acceptance of diversity, an ability to tolerate ambivalence and emotional control, reports The Times.
The 24-part questionnaire was published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research and derives from neuroscientist’s most recent understanding of how wisdom is formulated.
They believe that after they’ve successfully measured how wisdom emerges from the brain, they will be able to elevate it by way of cognitive training.
The study was conducted on 524 people between the ages of 25 and 104 who were asked how much they agreed with a series of statements, from “I cannot filter my negative emotions” to “I have a difficult time keeping friendships.”
The higher participants scored, the better they did on the wisdom scale.
So, how wise are you?
On a scale of 1 to 5, how far do you agree with each of the below?
1 I enjoy being exposed to diverse viewpoints.
2 I have a difficult time keeping friendships.
3 It is important that I understand my actions.
4 I cannot filter my negative emotions.
5 I tend to postpone making major decisions as long as I can.
6 Others look to me to help them make choices.
Add up your score from every question, but then minus the numbers you attributed to questions 2, 4 and 5.
If you racked up more than 10, congratulations, you’re the next Elon Musk; good luck on your mission to Mars.
However, if your total is less than eight, you might need to go back to the drawing board, assuming you don’t get lost on the way.
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