THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS IN PUBLIC*
BATTERSEA
WISDOM
*We have made a tiny edit to our name, from Thought Experiments in Pubs —> Thought Experiments in Public
This is to reflect the many places in which we now gather (e.g. parks, cafés, galleries, etc.), and to be more welcoming to those who prefer to avoid alcohol-focussed environments.
We still love pubs, and the informal, inclusive vibe they represent, but there are many other places with similar vibes to explore. So we’ll see you in the pub and elsewhere :-)
(You may still see “Thought Experiments in Pubs” listed here and there as we slowly update things.)
1 WISE BABY
Sally is 7 years old. People often describe her as shy, but she’s not shy, she just prefers to observe.
Sally’s dad, Priam, describes Sally as both quiet and confident: a self assured introvert.
Recently, the school bully focussed her attention on Sally, picking on Sally for being “weird” and “never saying anything” and “not fitting in”.
Sally told her dad about this and Priam asked Sally: “Did it hurt your feelings?”
Sally replied: “No. I don’t want to fit in. I want to be me. And the good thing is, I’m the best person in the world at being me.”
Priam was impressed.
Later on, he told his girlfriend about Sally’s reaction.
He said “She’s such a wise child. I know I’m biased, but I really think she’s wise beyond her years.”
Priam’s girlfriend, Maria, replied: “She’s clever, and she’s self-assured, but she’s not wise. I don’t think children can be wise. They haven’t lived long enough. Wisdom is gathered from experience. Sally is how she is because she has a wise parent.”
Priam chuckled and replied: “You’re flattering me. I think Sally is a lot wiser than I am. I think children often are wiser than adults. They have an openness about them, they’re not jaded and influenced by life.”
Maria: “Then why are all the stereotypes of wise people old? You always hear it in stories: “A ‘wise old woman’, or ‘wise old man’, or ‘the wise village elders’. You don’t often hear children described as wise. That’s why the phrase ‘wise beyond their years’ exists. I think there should be another word for the quality you’re describing in children, but I can’t think what.”
Priam: “Maybe, or maybe we live in an outdated society where stereotypes about age blind us to the actual qualities of individual people. I’ve met foolish children and foolish old people. I’m not sure what the correlation between wisdom and age is. I don’t know if there is one…”
Maria: “There must be one. You can’t have a wise baby.”
Priam: “I’m not sure.”
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
AGE
Can a baby be wise?
How old do you have to be to be wise?
How old was the youngest wise person you have met?
Are all old people wise? If not, why not?
WISDOM
What are the ingredients of wisdom?
How important is experience?
Is there another word besides ‘wise’ that might better describe Sally and other children with similar qualities?
Are there any correlates with wisdom that you can think of? Do certain types of people tend to be wiser than others?
This thought experiment is by Bonny Astor, founder of TEiP. You can read more of her thought experiments and other writing here.
2 INSTA-WISDOM
Manny’s relationship with Instagram has changed a lot since she first joined back in 2013.
She made an instagram because everyone was at the time. It was fun: sharing moments from her life, seeing what her friends were up to, seeing into the lives of people she admired.
After a while it lost its joy and began to feel terribly time consuming and addictive.
But all of her friends were using Instagram, everyone was using it. Opting out would be weird and counter-cultural, so Manny stayed on it for another 10 years.
Eventually, in 2020, inspired by a thoughtful opinion piece in her favourite newspaper, Manny deleted her account.
After the initial withdrawal, she began to feel free and liberated, and after a while, she realised she didn’t miss it at all. She preached the joys of a life off of social media for 10 years….until 2 months ago, when, surprising all of her friends, she set up a new account.
Now, Manny loves Instagram.
She explains to her sister, Monica: “It's totally different this time. I don’t see it as social media anymore. I don’t follow my friends and they don’t follow me. I follow accounts sharing wisdom, excerpts from books, art, big ideas, thoughtful stories, inspiring quotes. I’m learning so much. I now see Instagram as a place to learn from the wisdom of other humans, past and present. Yesterday I read this quote by Virginia Wolf that really reassured me:
“No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself.” - Virginia Woolf
Monica: “I get it, and some of the links you’ve sent me have been great, but are you actually absorbing all this wisdom? You must be reading tons of quotes every day and if you’re spending your time looking at your phone, you’re not actually out there in the world living. I don’t think you can instantly become wise just by reading wise things, I think wisdom comes slowly, from life.”
Manny feels uneasy. She’s not sure. She wonders whether she’s absorbing the wisdom she comes across or not.
A few weeks later, Manny and her boyfriend have a huge argument. He is upset with her for yet another thing and she feels totally taken for granted and unappreciated. He goes up to the bedroom, slamming the door behind him and she makes a cup of tea and takes with her to the scrap of park at the end of their road.
She sits on a bench and sighs.
A quote that she saw on Instagram earlier that week came back to her:
“If everything you offered was not enough, offer your absence.” - Mario Benedetti
Manny sips her tea, wondering.
Another quote comes to mind:
“Love is a verb. Not a permanent state of enthusiasm." - Esther Perel
She finishes her tea and walks slowly back to the flat, ruminating.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
Can you become wise by reading wise things?
How long does it take to absorb wisdom? Can it be instant? Or does it take time?
Does the source of wisdom matter?
Which wisdom should you listen to?
What do you think of the three quotes in this thought experiment? Are they wise?
To what extent is wisdom universal? To what extent is wisdom context dependent?
Is Instagram a repository for wisdom?
Where do you get your wisdom?
This thought experiment is by Bonny Astor, founder of TEiP. You can read more of her thought experiments and other writing here.
3 YOUR WISEST FRIEND
You’ve been stuck with this dilemma for weeks. Months, if you’re honest.
There are compelling arguments for either choice: expert-endorsed, scientifically-backed-up arguments, which, of course, makes the problem worse. You don’t know who to believe.
AI sycophantically condones whichever decision you present to it, flip-flopping with every prompt.
You don’t know what to do.
One of your family members, who you’ve bored with the quandary for months, snapped and told you to turn your phone off for the day and “let the universe speak to you”.
You take their advice, turn your phone off, and go for a walk around the city. You look out for signs from the universe.
Towards the end of the afternoon, you pass a graffiti-covered hoarding and something stands out to you.
In neon yellow, someone has artfully written: “Wisdom is more powerful than information. Listen to the wise people who care about you.”
This feels like a sign from the universe. You wonder who the wisest people in your life are.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
Dilemma
What would you do if you were faced with a dilemma where both options seemed equally good and there were strong cases for both sides?
Phone-a-friend
Who would you trust? Why?
What would their defining qualities be?
Would wisdom be one of them?
Wise people
How can we judge a person’s wisdom?
Is wisdom obvious or does it take a while to determine whether someone is wise or not?
Was the family member who sent you out to look for signs from the universe wise?
Was the quote on the hoarding wise?
Wisdom vs. information
We live in an age of abundant information. Do we also live in an age of abundant wisdom? Why/why not?
What is the relationship between information and wisdom?
Which is more important?
This thought experiment is by Bonny Astor, founder of TEiP. You can read more of her thought experiments and other writing here.
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