Wisdom & Knowledge are different in my opinion. Knowledge gives you an insight into a subject but Wisdom tells you how to interpret it.

Wisdom is the ability to properly use one's knowledge to achieve a given objective.

How can I believe in God when just last week I got my tongue caught in the roller of an electric typewriter? --Woody Allen

you may actually have one of the two
you may have so much knowledge in books and all but may not know the basics of life at all which requires wisdom in your own judgement
To me wisdom is the greatest of the two as it helps you in your everyday life

Thats the best description I guess.

Knowledge is of the mind or intellectual. Wisdom comes from your actual understanding and experience of life.

"Once you accept all your responsibilities in its totality,
you become mature.
You stop throwing tantrums and
you stop seeking messiahs.
Then there is no need for any Jesus to save you.
Nor can any Jesus save you -
he was exploiting your situation." --- Osho

I believe knowledge and wisdom do not necessarily have to come hand in hand.
I met enough people who were, well educated, bright and creative but failed in life,
others who successfully managed to get an university degree but could not think independently if their lives dependent on it
and others who did not have the chance to get a good education but are fully aware of how the world works.
Wisdom, I believe, is the more important aspect. Knowledge, similar to IQ, is like building material. Very valuable but useless, unless one knows how to build a solid house with it.

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimbel in the wabe.
All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.

That is very well said and I agree. Knowledge is learning and gathering information. Wisdom is gained through life experiences, good life observing and understanding. Wisdom has always been above knowledge.
There is a nice saying: "A stupid man learns from his own mistakes, a smart man learns from other people's mistakes, while a wise man sits and laughs at them both".

Knowledge is the accumulation of information. Wisdom, in an intellectual sense, is the ability to use knowledge beyond the mere accumulation of data.

Of course, you can have knowledge without wisdom, which I find useless, since information is available to everyone. It is the way you use it what makes a difference between a mere human encyclopedia and a wise person.

On the other hand, "wisdom" can refer to the ability to understand the rules of life and apply them fruitfully.

It is said human beings are complex. I say it's a complex challenge to be a human.

I keep seeing people saying that you can have a lot of knowledge without any wisdom, but can the reverse also be true?

Isn't it true that a man with very little knowledge about many topics can actually be found to be quite wise?

In fact, if a man is wise, does he not accumulate knowledge a little faster and retain that knowledge for much longer than a man who is not wise? I agree, anyone can learn a book and plagiarize what it says in a conversation, and often times that person is thought to be "Quite Intelligent" however, take that same (robot) and ask him to explain where he agrees and disagrees with the information, and he is stuck looking stupid (he lacks wisdom on the topic of the information)

It has been said in here that knowledge and wisdom do not go hand in hand, however, I have to disagree... while I personally favor wisdom above knowledge, wisdom is useless without knowledge, and likewise, knowledge is useless without wisdom. The two go hand in hand, and if there exists a deficit with either of the two that is a problem. It's all about balance when it comes to these things.

Those are my thoughts... what good is knowing how something works, without having the wisdom to make it work for you?

~ PSYKO ~

I have the feeling that wisdom needs time to develop. One rarly accepts the word wisdom for a young person. Of course even a young person can act wisely, but wisdom as a general ability is something that comes with the years. You have to accumulate experience and take your results of these. So you may become wise some day.
It seems to me that wisdom is something without temper. There is a kind of distance to hatred greed and even to love (at least a passionated love)

Actually, I would have to say that KNOWLEDGE clouds wisdom.

Who was it that said that there is a great deal of wisdom to be gained through listening to/observing a young child?

~ PSYKO ~

Temper,and or any other barely controlled emotion certainly clouds wisdom,hence the wise old expression "when you're thinkin with your dick,your wisdom is in the dirt."
SMILES..
Translation by courtesy of p.d...

Snoopy2 :i think "knowledge clouds wisdom" was einstein however scorczak was no slouch!!

I also havethe spelling wrong but i am sure we are referring to the same man..

knowlege is gained from what u expiereince......... wisdom u may gain same way ......

Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, 'Grow, grow.'

After reading all that has been written in this subject, I have to say that I agree with a few things. But widely speaking among the subject, I cannot find here something reflecting my thoughts.

I don't afford the same exact meaning of what is knowledge and wisdom. To me, learning (and then knowing) how to be wise in some situations forms part of the wisdom, doesn't it? But even if that's part of wisdom, that's also knowledge... Right? Then, I don't think we can cut the two. It's not only that the one need the other. But also that they are sometimes interpenetrating each other. (well, the word is perhaps a bit harsh... We can say more reasonably that knowledge and wisdom are two qualificatives that can be applied in the same time to some things...)

Only providing my advice, I would go further. Perhaps because everybody in this topic agree about the separation? I feel quite rebel in such cases. (When you go through an avenue, you forget the little streets crossing...)

Anyway. In my point of view, wisdom is an extension of knowledge. The part of the knowledge that help you to think about the things in a wise way. There I agree with some others. And disagree with others. You don't need knowledge to be intelligent, but you need it to be wise. Young people are less "deformed" (in their perceptions and way to take things) than adults.

You can say that it is a kind of wisdom, but in another hand children don't have sufficient experience of life to be able to turn wisdom on. They are more open to intelligence. But wisdom is not to be intelligent. That means it cannot be defined as a good way to reach what you want. Wisdom is overcoming the lack of mind opening of itself, but also of the others.

And at this point, knowledge forms a part of wisdom. A mathematician would say that if wisdom is contained in knowledge and knowledge contained in wisdom, they are both the same thing. But the world is not made of mathematics (in my opinion at least), and things are more complicated. Like every time, it depends on which point of view ones takes.

Well, I always talk too much, so I will finish soon.
To put things clear: what I consider is this definition for knowledge: knowledge is information, but not only data, also comprehension keys, computed reasonings...
And wisdom is how to take the world in which we live in a way that we can bear life, enjoy it, feel free, lively. And to be able to take it with humour. Life is completely paradoxal in my opinion, and that's why it is so interesting.

Knowledge requires only a memory ,wisdom requires thought..

Hmm, but can wisdom exist in the abscence of knowledge?

Is it a state of mind, a level of thought process?

My obsession www.movieautographsww.com

it may even be an ability.

~ PSYKO ~

Lets take an example,we will call it understanding of man..I give you a man ,he wouldn't be able to cross town,no knowledge of math geography ,geology,biology blah blah...He was known as jonatan the cobbler (his occupation)) People,among them brilliant scholars used to come from everywhere to sit with him and listen to him discussing a point of law..In a broad sense his knowledge was very limited so why all the people?? It seems he knew what makes people tick and i think that to be the difference between knowledge and wisdom...

that opens up the air for the possibility of POSITIVE and NEGATIVE wisdom though.

but it works... sure if you know how to make people tick you can take that influence and make it positive or negative I guess.

But I doubt that just because one knows how to gain friends and influence people means that he is WISE on matters.

~ PSYKO ~

Unfortunately sometimes people with knowledge are not wise, maybe intelligent, but not wise.....And sometimes i`m suprised by how anybody is wise, even without many knowledges...In spite of the age-any young man can have much more wise mind than old man with many knowledges! I`m disposed to think that wisdom is more quality of a person which he/she can develop during life experience, than the thing you can just take from books

I am nobody's little weasel

this comment was very difficult to read, but once understood... GOOD POINT.

~ PSYKO ~

I think the two go hand-in-hand, you need one to have the other.

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE WITHOUT PRAYER IS LIKE COMPUTER HARDWARE WITHOUT THE SOFTWARE!!!!!

Knowledge and wisdom are two completely different things.

Knowledge can be acquired via education and the like. Textbooks, lectures, etc.

Wisdom is only gained through life experience.

Philosophy is harmonized knowledge making a harmonious life; it is the self-discipline which lifts us to serenity and freedom. Knowledge is power, but only wisdom is liberty.
Will Durant