Was Albert Einstein a wise man because of his intelligence? Did Mother Teresa's spirituality make her wise? These are the type of questions that UC San Diego researchers are trying to answer in a new study that attempts to define the abstraction we call wisdom. According to their findings, wisdom is not limited to a high IQ quotient or moral righteousness, but is a form of advanced cognitive and emotional development based on experience that can be learned and increased with age. They found that wisdom is a uniquely human characteristic defined by six prominent qualities: general knowledge of life, emotional regulation, insight, helpfulness to others, decisiveness and tolerance of different values.
