Sort:  

It is sort of a quest Amor, when I started university, first in India and then overseas I saw often, that many students are smarter than their professors. I have seen that spradically in high schools too, but didn't pay much attention to it.

As I went from one university to the next, all over the world, in various exchange programs, and received many students in many exchange program, I saw this over and over again. Its not that the profressors or teachers are incompetent, they were mostly very good (I am fortunate), but it is not that they were masters in wisdom. Often many students easily outsmart them and was able to teach them a thing or two.

As I joined the work force, I saw gray haired experienced worker/managers are generally inept except a few exception, and the entire industry is actually ran by people just joining the workforce. In other words, I saw experience doesn't mean much, and often overpaid. Wise old men made way too many costly mistakes, and worse didn't do anything at all. Didn't take risk, didn't help others when they could have.

As I myself slowly become a gray haired man, I realized that I am not any better than that new hire I picked up from grad school.

So I don't personally believe that there isn't any wise old man. Your wisdom is special cases, is no better than mine, or as good as mine, Amor.

I see where you coming from with this and I agree. I've also seen this in practice, many companies try to get rid of their old employees and hire multiple fresher at the same expense. While it does feel kinda bad, I guess it's just how the corporate world and capitalism work.

And I never actually thought about this in the way you suggested. And I will agree with the general proposition— to be wiser, one doesn't have to be older.
However, that also does not mean there are no wise old men as we have plenty of examples of that in various art forms.

yes, there are various 'wise men/women' in virtually all fields. But have you met them personally? Probably no. You know them through their work, and that 'work' is mostly superlative and made them celebrities. Right?

Stephen Hawking, take him for example. Superlative right? But a terrible human as per family life, according to his wife.

Issac Newton, the father or physics and mathematics! Terrible investor!! Invested money in South Sea Bubble and lost everything!!

Robin Williams, superlative actor/comedian! Highly disturbed personal/family life lead him to kill himself...

I can go on and on....

If you're taking personal experiences and other aspects of life into consideration, then the young ones in your first example who excel at surpassing their elders in different professions can also make the same mistakes and be miserable—resulting in no human ever being wise, regardless of being young or old.

Of course, if we are to escape from this statement, we can define (or redefine) what wisdom is (because I have a very shallow understanding of what wisdom is and I did not associate it with personal lives and character traits) and then proceed to evaluate the geniuses based on the new parameters.

the young ones in your first example who excel at surpassing their elders in different professions can also make the same mistakes and be miserable

Yes. So the young ones are not wise either.

So I say ; there is no wise old man. No one is wise. Our wisdom are collective and inclusive and so are our flaws.

I see. In that case, I concur.