III . 任务型阅读 How to be wiser? Wisdom is something that ’ s hard to define and yet somehow we know it when we see it. The wise people can be thoughtful and self-reflective. They can recognize the limits of their own knowledge, consider alternative perspectives, and remember that the world is always changing. The wise people tolerate uncertainty and remain optimistic that even tricky problems do have solutions. They can judge what is right or wrong. Wisdom isn ’ t an innate quality—we can be wise and unwise in different situations. Igor Grossman of the University of Waterloo in Canada found that some people appeared to be wise in one situation, but not in another. So why are there differences in different situations? People were wiser when they were with their friends. It made them more likely to have the bigger picture, to think of other perspectives and to recognize the limits of their own knowledge. When people were alone they seemed to get so involved in a situation that they didn ’ t even think about alternatives. This means wisdom might be more common than we think. Some people still displayed more wisdom than others and some were more foolish, but not across every situation. This provides hope. If we can be wise sometimes, maybe we can learn to be wise more often. The question is how to do it. For Cornell University psychologist Robert Sternberg, wisdom is all about balance. Following Sternberg ’ s model, what you need to do is to remember to work out what all the different interests are in a given dilemma, both in the short and long term and to pay attention to the changing environment and how it might be shaped. Talking about yourself with another person can help. In a kind of school of wisdom, Grossman has experimented with different strategies in the lab. People were taught to take a different perspective by imagining they were taking a bird ’ s-eye-view of the situation. The idea is to try to distance yourself from the immediate experience. So when I have a dilemma, I should be asking what others would do. So can you set out to be wise? Yes, but there are lots of factors to remember. You need to take into account that people will have different goals, priorities and responses to your own. If you can juggle all that, you probably are showing wisdom. But the complexity shouldn ’ t stop us from trying. As Grossman told me, “It ’ s not that you suddenly become the next Buddha, but you do become a little bit wiser.” How to be wiser? 1 of wise people ● They consider things carefully and have a reflection by themselves. ● They have a good 2 of their limits, alternative perspectives, and the ever-changing world. ● They tolerate 3 things and believe they can solve the tricky problems. ● They can make a 4 about what is right or wrong. Situational changes ● When staying with friends, people tend to be wiser and more 5 . ● When 6 , people get too involved in a situation to think of alternatives. Suggestions from experts ● Be clear what the various 7 are and pay attention to the changing environment. ● Take a different perspective to 8 yourself from the present dilemma. Reminders from the author ● You should 9 for the different goals, priorities and responses. ● 10 as it is, you should have faith in becoming a wiser.