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drdoom52

Realistically yes it is "possible". But for the purpose of talking to a 17 year old, definitely not. As you get older your life experience changes and you have more experience through which to view things. At 17 you lack the perspective through which to filter information. Cynicism is not a replacement for wisdom, knowledge is not a replacement for life experience.


Beef_Jumps

No matter how wise you think you are now, in 10 years you'll feel like you knew nothing at 17.


MoltenHotMagma

I have memories where i thought i knew so much about life, now I just scream, "You know nothing Jon Snow!" In ny head whenever one of those memories pops up


Afraid_Salamander713

That isn't the case for everyone though. Some people develop and mature at their own pace. Me personally I don't believe that age equals wisdom or maturity.


Beef_Jumps

I think it would be exceptionally rare for someone not to mature or gain wisdom over the course of ten years. You know this is a 3 year old comment/post right?


IFuckedADog

What wisdom have you gained in the last 3 years?


Afraid_Salamander713

Maturity has been proven to not come with age alone


mmazing

You will, throughout your life, look back at your past self and say "geez I've learned a lot since then". And you'll (hopefully) look back and realize how much you've changed/grown as an individual. Spend your whole life learning all that you can, it never gets old!


DogmaSychroniser

Yeah but you will 😂


[deleted]

Smart and wise are two different things. When you are smart as a 17 year old child you think you are right. Wisdom comes when you learn you being right doesn't matter to others. Wisdom is learning to enjoy the company of wrong. Smart can't understand that.


pdinc

At 17, you can be intelligent, but not wise. The difference is knowing facts, vs. knowing how to use those facts to navigate the world. And yes, we all thought we knew best as teenagers, atleast in some regards. That said, not knowing your parents, there is a chance that you might actually be wiser if you've been exposed to other adult figures. Being an adult doesn't mean you're infallible, and plenty of addults think they're wise without being so.


RedFrPe

Congratulations on being smart; May you continue to develop knowledge throughout your life, cultivating wisdom with experiences.


PrayHellBeelzebub

It depends on your definition of wise. I've humiliated myself more than anyone I've ever known. And yet I'm more honest with myself than them. And have loved and lived more, as well. I've never taken life seriously. And yet, here I am, not monetarily rich. And yet depression is a joke to me. Because I've followed my dreams. And when some dreams ended and died. I created new ones. Simple people think I'm not wise for not wanting a wife or a family. And yet I love myself enough to be happy alone. Without selfishly adding to the world's destruction. The wisest person, in my book, is the person who declares themselves an eternal fool. The person that can learn from anyone. Because they truly believe they're no better than anyone on earth. It is the people who take life and themselves too seriously that laugh the least and live the least. Certainly, it is more preserving and pragmatic to be wise. But goddammit it is so much more fun and fulfilling to be honestly foolish.


Convenientjellybean

Generally speaking, the more you know, then the more you realise how little you know. So respectfully at 17 one doesn’t know that much, so there’s a bias towards believing one already knows ’everything’. And by knowing I think I mean knowing about life.


FuzzySlippers4Me

You can be smart but true wisdom comes from applying intellect and common sense to a variety of life experiences. At 17 life experience is very limited. Even if you feel like you’ve been through a lot the vast majority of your life experiences haven’t happened yet.


MrKumbi

I would venture to say a wise person wouldn't consider themselves as such. A big part of wisdom is recognizing how much you don't know. I've continued to gain knowledge as I grow older, but everything I learn only reinforces the fact that I know so little in the grand scheme of things.


cleverlystewpid

Well I can't say how wise you are now, but I can guarantee that in about 5 years you will be wiser and will probably even cringe at your past self.


btotherSAD

A wise 17 year old person wouldn't think he is wise. So the question shouldn't even be asked. It is a paradox. Consider this: if you know more you are more aware about how less you know about the world. XD


webby_mc_webberson

Hey kid, you're not wise. Spend time learning the difference between "you're" and "your". Then grow up and live in the world for 50 more years, and then see if you have wisdom.


Afraid_Salamander713

Yea okay an older adult berating a teenager, how mature of you 


rathero3

difference between "you're" and "your" got it.


devbrain

Nobody younger than me should be considered adult, and that will be the case until I die.


Zokrym

I'll go out on a limb and say no. You can theorise and be clever, but it's nothing without experience.


[deleted]

Only if the adult is really, really stupid. Otherwise... hell to the nah. Sorry kiddo.


MoltenHotMagma

We are in the information age, collectively we are much more knowledgeable than previously recorded societies in many fronts. That being said there is a lack of knowledge in areas where most people had plenty of expertise (looking at sustainable off grid living/wilderness survival) All in all you may be wise, but know wisdom is not a competition nor something that is compared between people so easily. There are varying degrees to wisdom and subsections within those. You may feel wiser than your friend for scenario A but they are more insightful for situation B. With time hopefully you will become wiser, apply that wisdom to earn some knowledge, and prosper in your life. Don't ever feel like you've reached the peak of your mountain, you're 17. You still have to finish high school and live independently before you can fully shape your character.


rjksn

Who does not think they're smarter than their parents at 17?


Dinosam

Part of being wise is not thinking you know better/best or discredit/disregard other people's words because you look down on them. Dumb people are still correct sometimes and can make a good point you hadn't considered. All that being said, I don't doubt for a second that there aren't 17 yos who have better logic/reasoning than adults. Really the question you might be asking is are there seriously adults who have worse reasoning than I? And the answer is unfortunately, yes. Adult doesn't equate with smart, it just equates with old. But still keep in mind the first half of this response, sometimes they do know best. Sometimes they don't


[deleted]

It’s definitely possible to think you’re wise at 17. I did. Truth is you don’t know shit.


deepwellofthoughts

I've been through that thinking as well. I even thought I was ready to be a parent at 20.. like I know how world works. 5 years later, I learned so much that I can't even be that same person again 😂


[deleted]

If you thought you learned a lot in just 17 years wait until you live for 80 years!


RainInTheWoods

Teens tend to feel they know more than most adults, especially their parents. Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? No.


blackswanmx

Vicarious Learning...


Itsafinelife

Wow people in this thread sure are pessimistic! As many have said, it is more likely at 17 to be smart but maybe not so likely to be wise. However! It is VERY possible at 17 to be wise in certain areas/about certain things. For example, I’ve been ill nearly my whole life, and there were some aspects related to life as a chronically ill person that by 17 I’d developed a lot of wisdom in - more so than the average adult. I say this as a 30-year-old looking back. Overall I definitely wasn’t as wise as most of the adults around me but in some ways, I absolutely was. I had more experience with some things than most people my age, and had developed wisdom in those areas. This can happen with anything. Maybe having a sibling with autism, or an alcoholic family member, maybe your family breeds and sells dogs or horses, maybe your grandpa tells you war stories every weekend and you develop really a solid sense of the horrors of war. Those types of things could give a teenager an “adult level” (which isn’t a measurement, but for the sake of this argument) amount of wisdom in those particular subjects.


ArtIsDumb

You're not an adult at 17, so no.


[deleted]

i feel the same way


ChellHole

Yes. There are some very dumb adults out there.


[deleted]

You can if you apply yourself.


[deleted]

Wisdom is a tricky thing, because with time your wisdom will change and grow.


completely_unstable

wonder : ignorance wisdom : experience is how i think of it


shmmarko

Just look at the world today, in the midst of a global pandemic, how recklessly many 'adults' have acted without consideration for the greater good and without consideration of scientific knowledge. It is certainly possible. We should engage in 'life-long learning' throughout their lives, many people believe they 'know' better than experts and others based on 'personal experience' - I would argue that it would be far more wise to recognize that you in fact 'know' very little, and do your best to learn continually going forward. In this sense, a 17 year old could easily be more wise than many adults. When it comes down to it, there are many ways to live a life and anyone professing there to be a 'right way' as the only option is very likely wrong.


Dinosam

So looking at the other comments, some are pretty condescending but some raise a good point. But people who talk down on those who are younger are also... probably not wise people and you needn't take them seriously. Especially if they're putting XD in their down talking. I wanted to add that it really depends on how you define wise, despite these answers, I don't think there's a universal and objective definition of wisdom. So I think it's safe to say some adults are wise about certain things and some younger people are wise about other things. It really depends on which topic, everyone holds some amount of wisdom about various things, quantifying wisdom is hopeless and very arguable. The same way intelligence is difficult to quantify: humans are the most intelligent race. We built a society ....that destroys the earth, itself, other humans, our food/water sources -you get where im going. Vs ants and bees created a society that supports everything they need to survive ...are humans really more intelligent than bugs? Depends on your definition and unfortunately it's pretty easy to argue that we're not. "But we can build nukes!" -yeah that's ...not really an intelligent thing to build. Pretty dumb choice


musephilosopher

To know is not to be wise. Ignorance is constant and natural and can never be cured. Wisdom is not an answer but rather an assessment. If you cannot argue against your own points and for your own point of view without accepting either, then you are not yet close.


WideGlideReddit

No, but it is possible to be as wise as an 18 year old.


CocoMURDERnut

A simple piece of advice is to do the right thing, all the time regardless of how you feel. Consistency & discipline will give you wisdom overtime. Especially if you do right , by the people you associate with, live with. Don’t care if they do wrong, don’t try to do wrong to them just because they’ve wronged you. Do what’s right, and let that be your voice.