Why Wisdom?

As My older boy Ore reaches his 5th birthday I find our discussions to be more and more profound. As I rediscover the world through his newly articulate mind, I reflect on my role in these talks. It strikes me that what is important to me is not knowledge transfer but rather to bestow wisdom upon him.

Wisdom is something one acquires over SEVERAL lifetimes. This recognition started me thinking about the problem and opportunity that is wisdom in the digital age.

I have been very fortunate to participate in the exploding world of search technologies. Over the last decade I have explored the domain of real-time search and my main driver for what was a very challenging journey was a strong conviction that the technology had profound implications. A recent post by Erick Schonfeld on Techcrunch titled The Real Time Search Dilemma: Consciousness Versus Memory gives a good sense of my sentiments (I also wrote a really long comment on the post).

When I think of the profound implications for Ore as he grows up in a world with Google, I feel that we are witnessing an almost evolutionary change. I truly believe that there are far reaching cognitive implications for this "Google Inside" generation. It will impact their notion of memory and information retrieval profoundly. It will make them weak in certain areas and very strong in others that have yet to be charted. The entire notion of memory is changing in a world where any information is a second away. The notion of consciousness is changing in a world that is connected in real-time.

Yet we are just at the beginning of the search revolution. One that will impact the way we think in profound ways. Once you acknowledge that the marvel of Google as we see it before us is merely the first baby step, you start thinking of whats next. What are the next, much harder questions to ask. What are the next mountain peaks for us to ascend to. That line of thought brought me to my next peak to climb. the problem of Wisdom in the digital age.

As products of our modern age we spend so little time reflecting on past wisdom. If we are not religious very few of us take any time to reflect on past wisdom following our exit from college. We spend our lives in the treadmill of the modern world conditioned to face forward. Focus on the future and manipulating its outcome. But in this mad dash we loose out on tools that could make that momentous task much more pleasant with a higher probability of success. As a species we have been blessed with some amazing minds that have graced us with their presence. They have left behind them vast stores of wisdom. The wisdom is there but alas, it is locked away behind the thick fog of the lack of proper technology to access it. Imagine a world where the wisdom of all those brilliant people was accessible in context to your activities. A "WisdomSense" technology that will retrieve the relevant wisdom at the right time. Effortlessly augmenting your life experience with the insight of thousands of brilliant minds.



iWise.com in its current state is only the first syllable of where iWise the Wisdom Engine is heading. We are set to apply the state of the art in search technologies in the field of NLP and statistical search and innovate on top of it. It is sure to be my most challenging search related climb yet, but if I manage to get up there, I am sure I will be giving my kids a great gift.

"Sharing wisdom is an act of generosity."

One that we aim to facilitate in ways never possible before.
We look forward to sharing more with you in the days and months to come as we launch iWise and start the never ending process of iterating on a truly great problem.

Comments

[Vitaliy]

Would be interesting to see the results here.
Your observation on information retrieval is dead on.

[twitter.com/idaremyidea]

I mentally consumed what you typed above and wondered upon this part "It strikes me that what is important to me is not knowledge transfer but rather to bestow wisdom upon him" ... as I looked into the eyes of a great wonder in a little child I too was astounded by a powerful presence of an amazing mind; the articulation of such a mind empowers the mother into embracing and exchanging information as a balanced peer; whilst within loving caring coordinated guiding care.

Virgina Satir shared an information exchange of what now is understood as a profound wisdom at ones choice of acceptance ... it is ...

Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open and rules are flexible ... the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family.

For sharing you unique worth - thank you.

[Bruce]

You're doing some terrific work here. I will explore more about what your site can do. At Forbes magazine we've been collecting thoughts on life and business for 80+ years. I encourage you to try our new online quotes and thoughts database at http://thoughts.forbes.com

[Charles Knight]

We would love to get in touch and learn more about the Wisdom engine.

Cheers,

Charles Knight, editor
AltSearchEngines.com

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[Youpele]

I really like what you've got planned for your boys and your future search endeavours. It's people like you I really appreciate people like yourself who are always willing to push the envelope.

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http://www.Whymandesign.com would love to creatively enhance your work
for example with the user interactivity of the service and the
organisation structure http://www.Traidmark.org

http://www.WEBiversity.org is one example of how open source software
can be used with that business model.

http://www.Playgroundgames.org are also looking for co producers who can
benefit from using an international broadcast network to 1. draw
communities together (age/gender/race...) and 2. create an archive of
the ways cultures play before they are lost for ever.

Ed http://www.twitter.com/whymandesign

http://www.TRUSTlibrary.org can help too

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[James A. LaFond-Lewis]

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I really like what you've got planned for your boys and your future search endeavours.

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I'm really impressed by your article. It's one of the most interesting I've read in a while. I do have a kid about the same age too, and I can relate to what you're saying.

[rami]

Wisdom is such a great word, and you helped me understand what it really means. Thank you!

[Isabella (Ladybelle) Fiske McFarlin]

Isabella Fiske McFarlin here.
I like your page and blog! But the photo you have of my father, Irving Fiske, is NOT him. It is someone he'd probably have loved to meet (she's attractive), but it is not male or my father…
If you want a picture of Irv I can provide you with one. I appreciate your using his quotations. I think he was pretty wise, especially where young children were and are involved.
Isabella (Ladybelle)
http://quarryhillcreativecenter.blogspot.com

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[anthony]

there is a typo on the iwise homepage - you have not a twitterfeed but a twiterfeed

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The rapid development of science and technology to our way of life brought great changes, each new technology brings new content, Google is one part of the engine. Every year new content appears.

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[Isabella Fiske McFarlin]

I really like the quotes you chose and the people you chose for the site. It's a great idea. And, in my opinion (and clearly, that of my father, Irving Fiske), you are correct about children. They teach us, we don't teach them... unfortunately we all too often take their original joyous energy and pour it down the drain.
Today, people may cater to their children more than when some of us were young (I, however, was raised to have, do and be what I wished, insofar as my parents could manage it in the world of the 50 and early 60s). But this "catering" is not the same thing as honoring their innate and wise intelligence. Children are also pushed too hard to excel in things like pre-school and kindergarten. I still think, with my family, that most kids (this doesn't always apply to kids with emotional and learnng disabilities), offered learning as a joyous goodie, will delight in it, not hate it and fear it...
In Judaism, I believe, there is a custom to give a child a sweet when first teaching him/her to read. This associates the yumminess of learning with the yumminess of goodies... and thus the Jewish people have been very successful, generally speaking, at promoting a love of reading and learning. My father came from a family of Russian Jewish emigres and was certainly one who loved to read, write, learn. And when he was 28, he told me, one day he realized he didn't HAVE to be what his parents wanted him to be. He could be whatever he wanted! (In those days people believed the status quo ruled till a somewhat later age). I am so glad for this site and will try to find some more neat quotes for you.
Isabella

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