"We three kings from orient are", runs the famous Christmas carol. But the idea that Jesus was visited in the manger by three kings was actually an invention of later Christian writings. In the GospelIn the Bible, a teaching of Christ. Also a genre of Christian music. of Matthew they are described as "Magi",¹ which is often translated as "wise men".

That might give us the sense that wisdom was something that came naturally to them. But the word "magi" originally came from the PersianA language, also known as Farsi, spoken in Iran. word "magus", which referred to a priest who was highly trained in astrologyThe study of the movements of the sun, moon and planets and the belief that they affect people's personalities and lives. .² They were wise because they had devoted their lives to developing their wisdom.

Today, however, studying astrology is unlikely to get us quite as far. So how can we learn to be wise in our own times?

Here are five concepts you can use to become wiser in navigating the modern world:

Goodhart's law: This rule states that setting targets can make people focus on technically meeting the target instead of actually improving things.³

Segal's law: This states that: "a man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure".⁴ We tend to think that the more information we have, the better. But sometimes it is better to go with one imperfect source of information that gives us a certain answer than to spend a lot of time worrying whether or not it is exactly right.

Generation effect: When we want to learn about a topic, our instinct is to go away and read about it. But according to the generation effect, information is retained more easily if it comes from within our own minds.

Licensing effect: In simple terms, this states that if we think we are good we will let ourselves do bad. For example, we might let ourselves keep £10 that someone has dropped if we have given that much to charity.

Ambiguity aversion: In general, we prefer a certain bad outcome to an uncertain one.⁵ But taking risks is important in life. Even if they do not pay off, we usually learn from them.

Yes: It is said that learning is knowing a tomato is a fruit, and wisdom is knowing not to put it into a fruit salad. Being wise means knowing how to adapt to your surroundings, and anyone can learn that.

No: Wisdom is more than just adaptability. It relies on a number of innatePresent naturally. skills, like a good memory, strong reasoning abilities and a curiosity about the world.

Or... Wisdom is not necessarily the most important thing. An old Arab proverbA short and well-known saying, often giving advice. runs: "Ask he who has experience, not the wise man". We should focus less on wisdom and more on experience.