Wisdom Literature, aphorisms and advice

 Wisdom Literature is a collection of best guesses about what a reasonable life would look like. That’s the way it seems to me.

Scott Newstok’s book about thinking has made me think about aphorisms. It seems to me that almost everything we humans do is moral — the way we treat people in the waiting room or in traffic on the freeway.

The problems start when we start moralizing — making statements about what we think is the moral thing to do. There’s a world of difference between a harsh, judgmental voice and an inquiring voice that says: “Life is complicated and puzzling, but in my experience, one way to live it reasonably is to …”

I have a good friend who challenges me every time I use the word “advice.” He contends that advice is seldom wanted and never taken. It’s a perfect waste of breath.

But when I’m in a strange place, I always ask the locals where I can find a good place to eat. I know there are plenty of bad places to eat. The kind of advice I’m talking about is like that, the sharing of experience by someone who knows the lay of the land with someone who does not. In my book, it’s priceless.

• Sources: I think this is what H.L. Mencken would say about Wisdom Literature. But I’m not sure. For more on his Minority Report: H.L. Mencken’s Notebooks, see the notes on July 4 and 5. For more on Scott Newstok’s How to Think like Shakespeare, see the notes on June 24, 28 and 29.