Growing Older But Not Wiser: Why?

This is a phenomenon I have noticed overtime. A case where you see an adult (may even be an elderly person), and you feel like "fine, he should be knowledgeable as regards the issue at hand", but then to your surprise he/she demonstrates roundly, that he/she is ignorant or even unwise.

When I was much younger, I wouldn't have imagined that but growing up, and having expected some form of guidance from my seniors, I came to the realization that age is not an indicator of wisdom. In the end, I regretted ever looking up to them for guidance in the first instance.

But then, I would like to know why it is so. We may learn one or two things from it.

 

Could it possibly be because those of older generations were not given the same opportunities as us? It was quite possibile to find a job that paid well enough to support a family with little more than a basic education. Factoring in the lack of information overload that we see today, it's quite possible that our elders are unwise because there was never the need to be anything else.

 

People do get wiser as they get older, although it may appear to younger generation some of the elder's behaviors are foolish or unwise, they do have some obscure reason behind every move they do, unlike young people who act randomly or by a logical reasoning unfounded by experience. We also have to give the elders the benefit of making mistakes, and experience new things, as the learning process never ends.
I'm not young, nor old, I just hope that every day I would wake up less stupid than the night before.

 

This is because wisdom doesn't come with age. Age would never define wisdom. You maybe very young but could be wiser or you maybe a full grown-up yet imprudent. Starting from the definition of wisdom itself, would we really be able to fully grasp its meaning? Is there even a way to fully measure it? In it's basic sense wisdom is a quality of having knowledge and experience and having the ability to use these knowledge and experience in application. From my point of view, wisdom is more related to one's personal growth and development and the kind of environment and stimuli that nurture it. So a young one who have been living an independent life and thriving in a challenging environment could acquire sufficient wisdom even at an early age as compared to an older person who might have grown up being used to having access to everything without even trying.