The older I get, the less I know. Isn’t it supposed to work the other way around? A friend of mine, Jerry, gave me this quote from Bertrand Russell the other day: The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.” The Greek philosopher Socrates was once proclaimed to the wisest man in the world. The day before he died, Socrates declared that he knew nothing. On that same day, the Oracle at Delphi was asked “Who is the wisest man in the world?” She replied “Socrates is the wisest man in the world.” This was reported back to Socrates who said “When I was young, I knew everything but now I know nothing.” The Oracle, who was never wrong, was asked “How can Socrates be the wisest man in the world when he knows nothing?” She replied “Only the wisest man in the world would know that he knows nothing and have the courage and humility to admit it.”
