While acknowledging that wisdom is an elusive concept, Jacqui Smith, a professor of psychology and research professor at the Survey Research Center and Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research (ISR) at the University of Michigan, and her fellow researchers have defined wisdom as "knowledge about the fundamental pragmatics of life."
In less scholarly terms, a wise person may be someone who has maintained the psychological vitality that allows him or her to keep managing their own life, even at an advanced age. A wise person also may be someone to whom family members and coworkers go for solutions and advice.
Contrary to the old adage that "with age comes wisdom," a great many older people never achieve wisdom-related knowledge. "Many adults are on the way towards wisdom, but very few people display a high level of wisdom-related knowledge or behavior as we assess it," says a recent manuscript by Smith and her frequent collaborator, Paul B. Baltes.
Source: College of Literature, Science and the Arts (LSA), University of Michigan, Spring 2007