I talk to any number of disinterested people a week about games.
I talk to any number of disinterested people a week about games. One of the things that has cropped up from time to time is. What is wisdom, and why is it different that intelligence.
When i was a kid, just picking up a DMG. It was an issue that drew me. The dictionary didn't quite cut it. So i had to go to the library. That day i learned two things that i found infinitely useful.
1) The following quote.
Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. -Charles Spurgeon
B) That is you have a question that needs answering. Asking a librarian is always a great place to start.
My absolute favorite summary is the "tomato" thing.
ReplyDeleteStrength is how easily you can crush a tomato.
Dexterity is how accurately you can throw or dodge a tomato.
Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is knowing that you shouldn't use a tomato in a fruit salad.
Constitution is how many tomatoes you can eat without getting sick.
Charisma is how well you can sell a tomato.
"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting a tomato in your fruit salad"
ReplyDelete"Isn't a fruit salad with tomato a salsa?"
"We've found the bard!"
~~~
On a related note, I've long wanted to play a librarian in an RPG, but I keep forgetting/getting distracting when I get the chance to create a new character
My favorite explanation of wisdom goes like this.
ReplyDeleteKnowledge tells you that you're on the train tracks
Understanding tells you that trains drive on train tracks
Wisdom is getting off the tracks.
I find the difference between intelligence and wisdom confusing, because (despite the tomato thing) intelligence and knowledge are very different things. I guess I'd look at it as "intelligence is how easily you can learn, and wisdom is how easily you can apply what you've learnt", but I don't know if that's a good way to distinguish between them in a D&D world
ReplyDeleteI've thought of Intelligence as the ability to accumulate information and reason through it.
ReplyDeleteWisdom as a separate entity has always been weird to me but even if a person had low intelligence, they might be wise because of experience. It's kind of like an "I've seen this before" stat. If the character is young and has a high Intelligence, I'd characterize it as being intuitive, being able to apply the information they've acquired to come to practical solutions.
That's why Wisdom is strange in my opinion, it doesn't take the same shape for all characters.