Books

In the living of a life wisdom is more important than cleverness. Cleverness without wisdom is like a car with an accelerator but no steering wheel.

Is it a matter of cheek, courage or wisdom to write a 'textbook' of wisdom? This book is not a discussion about wisdom but a presentation of 'thinking tools', guide lines and principles. The use of this book is up to you. If you prefer to wait for grey hair in the hope that this will automatically impart wisdom, then wait.

'Wisdom', suggests Edward de Bono 'is the art with which perception crafts experience to serve our values.' Cleverness is like being able to cook a superb meal; wisdom is like designing the meal we want from the ingredients we have to hand. It is founded on confidence rather than arrogance, forever open to the power of new possibilities, and ways to leap the barriers between 'now' and 'then'. It means accepting that other people see the world in different ways from us, which within their own 'logic bubbles', make perfect sense. It means using values and emotions to guide our lives without allowing them to enslave us. Creativity, like humour, relies on making unexpected connections (which often seem obvious in retrospect), so the first step to wisdom may well be the ability to laugh.

For far too long we have been constrained by the traditional thinking methods designed by 'the Gang of Three' (Socrates, Plato and Aristotle). While immensely valuable, these methods are too harsh, too judgmental and too lacking in constructive creativity to cope with a complex and changing world. Such methods force the rich complexities of perception into into either/or judgments. Our brains deserve and demand that we do better with them.

Few writers have de Bono's gift for clarity and fresh simplicity and getting readers' thoughts to flow along fresh lines. With a huge wealth of experience in the teaching of thinking ( from school children to Nobel laureates), Edward de Bono is possibly in a better position than anyone else to write this slim 'textbook'