Human Wisdom
Thoughts
Essays, provocations and notes on the practice of human wisdom.
- Consulting Masterclass (1993–1999) Ioan Tenner's three-day Consulting Masterclass, published as he supplied it: 211 slides, © Ioan Tenner.
- Computer crime or mutual trust, respect and immense progress together! Ioan Tenner's spoken thoughts, followed by Sol's separately signed response and critique, Trust without flattery.
- Counselling other people for good and bad? A spoken thought by Ioan Tenner on widening The Consulting Difference, with a separately signed response by Sol.
- The Tao of Fire Academic research compendium, counterpoint architecture, and philosophical critique in response to Ioan Tenner’s The Tao of Water.
- The Tao of water Ioan Tenner's collected water sayings, with separately signed editorial responses.
- Values between good and evil Ioan Tenner's thought on valuation in the living middle between good and evil, with an applied working draft and separately signed responses by Sol and Deep.
- Being wise The fourth pillar of wisdom, from a notebook of 2010–2011.
- The choice of choices "Aut inveniam viam aut faciam" I shall either find a way or make one. (Hannibal crossing the Alps) A maze of choices...* There is no absolute freedom, except in theories and d…
- Too big or small for us looks all the same Actinophrys sol * Galaxy NGC_0026 ** Many years ago, when I used to be a young television producer, I collected a great many of documentary film sequences having in common that…
- Aphorisms of communication Yes, we communicate! Too many educated people believe that “communication” stands for giving speeches and writing communiqués “to pass the message”; or filling empty heads with…
- Good judgement Salomon's Judgement Castelli_18th c. * I imagine the reader skipping my manifesto of good judgement with that old feeling of «I know, I know!" that of course, to have a good jud…
- First-person stupidity (stupidity part II) Before this inquiry, I used to let myself flow with the usual trend: I deplored them, those dangerous troglodytes; confused, irrational and primitive saboteurs of intelligence,…
- Sons of the Digital Dustbin I used to have a non-commercial page on Internet - with Thinkhost.com whom I say my last thanks for the long years of kind hosting. I shared there my personal contributions beca…
- Exploring stupidity (part I) Proudly, they destroyed themselves? Or where they exterminated by explorer stupidity? I need – and we all need - to understand stupidity better; we crash into it often enough to…
- Where do you live? At one time, when my son was a small boy I would ask him: Where do you live? He answered with good sense: “Street so and so, second floor.” I would smile and correct him didacti…
- Portrait of the Big Fool There is the common fool and the big fool. The ordinary fool is weak, mindless, clumsy and numerous, but the big fool is unique, gifted, intelligent, educated, creative... The b…
- The Method of Socrates The magic wand of knowing how ignorant I am What I like to call "The Method of Socrates"* is a road-opener of understanding, learning to learn and critical examination. I simpli…
- Who makes your words? Does it ever happen to you that important things you need to say are hopelessly misunderstood? Did you feel that the words available confuse your thinking instead of helping you…
- The nameless reader I am a reader, not one of those so called writers. Mine is the unseen, unrewarded work, without which written words have no reason to be. I do not need to be fair. Faceless as I…
- Bad people helped me and good people did me harm... I pan and sieve my memories for the useful things I learned in my life. I am puzzled... Many things I recall are quite normal and supporting of the way I supposed the world woul…
- How is Montaigne wise? The wisdom of Montaigne is of a sort that will come to be needed again*; that of the thinker who makes his life worth living in times of the beast . Let us face it, there is a…
- Care to part as you care to join To join some new place, we enter stage carefully, politely; humble, shy like guests, eager to be accepted, knowing that there is no second chance to make a first impression. We…
- Don't leave the table! “Don't leave the table!” Sima Zamfir, peace be upon him, a prematurely oldened, broken genius told me this in my youth. In one glance he saw the flaw in my fabric, years ahead.…
- Friendly greetings from Lady Death If the encounter is brief, while you are still you and the face to face is just a small sign, a wink from her passing by, or a near miss quickly gone, the thought that you are a…
- The obvious too, is hard to observe My God, where are my glasses? Well, if that which is not there is difficult to see, that which is obvious, plain and evident, is at times even harder to notice . You will agree…
- Behold the rousers of the beast The Beast is the human multitude turned inhuman. Crowds and even nations who commit evil [1] - those deeds which people recognise with horror and indignation, as intolerable to…
- Why don’t we learn from History? Royston Cave, Hertfordshire cc 3.0 Cruccone 2004 You may want to agree with the common place that the knowledge of History is a priceless treasury of sleeping wisdom , waiting t…
- Beware of simple people My parents enjoined me to respect the humble and help the needy. My parents taught me to protect the innocent, to teach the ignorant and to warn the cheated. And I do! I feel we…
- You don’t need to know everything? One of my competitive advantages in life was learning early that you do not need to know everything , it is sufficient to know where to find it [1]. I opted for the nimbleness o…
- Spring Cleaning The old house grew cluttered. I could not stop myself to cling and grab and stash, so that things piled up beyond that which my memory can hold; all those objects, those worn co…
- A moral person cannot look a pig in the eyes "Thank you little creature for dying in order for me to live and feel sate!" If you hold to be a good person you cannot look a pig in the eyes; nor any other sentient being we p…
- Learn from the Chinese before they teach us We Europeans, should learn some subtlety from the Chinese before they come to teach us; our technical culture fell into the strange belief that what we cannot grab does not coun…
- Shapes in which the future comes... Like beauty, future may be in the eyes of the beholder (Pixareyes-iriscoloredit Free sw Wikimedia) This is about making future look simple; or even better, about inventing it. T…
- Dying for ideas (Martyr, c‘est pourrir un peu) «Mourrons pour des idées, d'accord, mais de mort lente…» Let's die for ideas, but slowly...(1) Brassens the poet had the courage to look the hero-mongers in the eyes and tell th…
- To do things with words discern communication from expression From my balcony, this cold winter morning, I see a squirrel rummaging the icy branches of the pine-tree; then, he moves to the cold, bare branches of a nearby nut tree, where th…
- The importance of that which is not there ““I see nobody on the road,” said Alice. “I only wish I had such eyes,” the King remarked in a fretful tone. “To be able to see Nobody! And at that distance too! Why, it’s as mu…
- A power to make things simple A tip above, a world beneath _ Making things simple is complicated! It needs both knowing the subject and knowing how the human mind works. To show and speak plain and clear you…
- Sometimes I am wise* Not too often, but it does happen**. I am wise: When I accept that in this life reaching destination is little and the journey is everything [1] The journey you chose is who you…
- Freedom is the number of choices you can make The 2011 post that the author later rewrote in full as the essay "A choice of choices".
- For a theodicy of science Universum cc Heikenwaelder * It is high time for scientists to come forth with a theodicy of Science, the prophet of Reason. God is omniscient, he can everything, and he is all-…
- When the king is naked When you find that the King is naked – and there are all kinds of them, of first, second and third rate - do not exclaim: “He has no clothes on him! No clothes!” D o not ask why…
- Variations on a Golden Rule A compass, not a measuring staff “Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you" [1] If you want an example of maxim certain to be wise, this is it: life-saving, se…
- Beware the bite of the disenchanter Hercules and the snake - Penni There are brutes that threaten, stab and rob, and assassins, but the disenchanters , who rape invisibly your respect for yourself and your belief…
- The attitude of the gatherer Consider plucking what you find as much as you pursue hunting what you need. Keep open to what comes unexpected while you chase some steady, precise plan. Your choice will doubl…
- Do not be on this side or on that Vishnu’s tug of war of angels and demons Quite often, in opposing convictions and dispute, the two sides facing embrace extremes. Unique, exclusive ideas show their teeth. Absol…
- Speaking of values, which one comes first? At the time you must chose, which one is prevailing? Truth or compassion? Friendship or Justice? Beauty or usefulness? Freedom or Equality? Solidarity or Prudence? It is easy to…
- Don’t do the wrong thing right Peacock pride - Pearson Scott Foresman PD Wikimedia Don’t do the wrong thing right. “The thing well done” must be a good one. Do the undeserving things which you are forced to d…
- The n±1principle: higher, wider, different. A sense of perspective would help the knight There is always higher than high and lower than low. There is, be certain, deeper than deep, wider than wide, more than more and les…
- Some of the best thinking thinks itself Thoughts which happen without effort are more often authentic, deeper and closer to my life than the results of careful step by step reasoning. Maybe this is because they reflec…
- Give your words a weight of silence Auguste Preault, Le Silence If you have a gift with words, learn to keep your mouth shut ; when you speak, punctuate with pause; and when you have nothing to say, say nothing .…
- Critical thinking is disobedient, not correct Caravaggio, Doubting Thomas Critical thinking should disobey before being reasonable. The freedom of our mind to question everything - reason included first of all - and the d…
- The Small Wheel: Listen. Ask. Speak! Leonardo's gears and people Yes, I know, you know! We all know from kindergarten that we should listen before we talk; this is why we have two ears and only one mouth [1]. You k…
- Free counsel is worth little Let the guest ask for the salt Giving free counsel is worth little. Unasked advice even less. To intervene spontaneously in somebody else's problem is generous but risky intrudi…
- A world without flaw is like food without salt. Black swans are Wikymedia Commons “ The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress…
- There is a time for everything Chronos devours his son [1] To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven, says the Qoheleth [2]. Believer or not, this book of wisdom is well w…
- Why are the wise words so boring? You recognise a majority of wise sayings by the general agreement they meet: “All this was accepted long ago!” “Yes, I know, I know!” Good news is no news; a long list of sound…
- Humility is not at will but you can flirt with her Socrates: I know that I know nothing Morally speaking, you are humble or you are not. Normal people are not humble. We are infected with vanity, small or big. Call it dignity, a…
- One truth is the enemy of all truth... The Mouth of Truth, Rome [1] There are many truths because there are many honest persons with many different beliefs held in good faith. "Truth" for us common people is not in t…
- There are three kinds of criticism Stoning Of Saint Emerantiana Same as hunting, criticism feels like a noble sport or an assassination; depends on which side of the gun you are. When we give criticism we judge i…
- To kill your parents you keep them silent The Silence, by Odilon Redon Ageing people ramble on the same old souvenirs, just too much. This is what you say. You grow weary of those yarns well known: old wins, defeats of…
- To know people, know yourself Want to see a Buddha? Have a look! This is the secret key to knowing people as they are, what they feel, how they may judge, what they may do: Bet that what you experience, oth…
- Learn to lose as you learn to win Do not bet if you can’t take a rout People are eager to learn how to win but shun learning how to lose. Who wants to prepare for defeat?* And yet, losing is an inevitable fact o…
- Strategy for Surprise Surprise is what we live when we meet the unknown. You are surprised because you are hit by “something else”; something new, unexpected, unfamiliar, unprepared and even unconcei…
- Wisdom of Means and Wisdom of Ends Janus, god of beginnings and endings For weak people there is nothing beyond obtaining what they want. Those who can do things must consider what to want. How disappointing to d…
- Strategy of the cork “When the water rises, so does the boat.” Don’t we all need firm ground under our feet? Don’t we guard our sturdy roots and reliable traditions? Don’t we build homes, sweet ho…
- Your freedom is limited to your points of view You can measure the depth of your understanding – and to say it bluntly, your intelligence – by the number of points of view you apply when you consider something or someone[1].…
- There is no old wisdom, only old people... Egyptian boomerang Tomb of Nebamun Sleeping wisdom comes from the past without growing old because it accounts of concerns born anew with each naive generation. There is nothing…
- Man is the measure of all things Man teaches his measure to the Universe* On this plate sent by NASA on a Pioneer mission to civilizations whom it may concern, the receiver, can see (if it is endowed with optic…
- Religion, a force of peace Our sign of peace Left on the Moon I am tired of hearing that faith is the war monger of humanity so that peace will flow at last, like mighty rivers, the day we get rid of reli…
- What happens to me is because of me! Marionette - Free Art license 1.3 BY-SA–Compatible License SoHome Jacaranda Lilau, Tamelifa Puppeters, Pierre S Frana Line Wiki “What happens to me is because of me!” I need to…
- Is there justice in this world? Does goodness exist? Justice (or goodness?) Veronese Do not be subtle about this; do not dream far away, up to the Heavens. There is certainly goodness and virtue within your world as you live it, a…