Quote from Ali Scarlett on September 7, 2021, 4:59 pm

I was doing my daily reading today when something jumped out at me that I liked.

Book: "He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive."

"Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace...". I think that's true.

I think that most people use the words of others to assess another person's level of knowledge and wisdom. What someone says and how they say it can be a strong indicator of who they are and how much they know.

So, even if someone is a fool, they can still reap the benefits of the knowledgeable by simply keeping their mouth closed.

I love the idea that one does not need 100% mastery or knowledge in all areas to achieve success in life. And, even a fool can achieve some success if they know how to leverage power dynamics (and, if they know power dynamics, maybe they're not so foolish after all :).

The passage continues:

Book: "One of the most groundbreaking, far-reaching judicial opinions ever handed down by the Supreme Court was the Miranda decision, which determined that every criminal suspect has a constitutional right to be advised of the availability of counsel. Under the Miranda ruling, police officers are required to tell suspects: 'You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you.' We should consider exercising that right to remain silent more often in everyday circumstances. Many times it is wisest to say nothing at all. Someone has said, 'A wise man is one who thinks twice before saying nothing.' People who are always putting in their two-cent's worth often only say things that are worth about two cents!"

"People who are always putting in their two-cent's worth often only say things that are worth about two cents!"

Ahaha, how true :).

And, that might've especially been the case when I first joined this forum. I didn't know much of anything, but I was eager to learn, so I still engaged in the forum's activity. And, my words revealed my knowledge (or lack thereof) for everyone to see.

Had I kept my mouth shut, maybe I could have influenced people's perceptions to view me as being more knowledgeable than I really was. But, I also would have missed out on many learning opportunities along the way.

That's why I'm not a huge fan of the "Always Say Less Than Necessary" rule that Robert Greene encourages (see 48 Laws of Power). I think that there are exceptions to everything and that, especially when one is first starting out in something they do want to master, saying more can be a great help in gathering feedback along the journey.