"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" (although it means something closer to "magician").

That might give us the sense that wisdom was something that came naturally to them, that they were born wise babies and died wise men. 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

So it was not because of some special gift that the wise men were wise. It was because they had devoted their lives to developing their wisdom for the moment it mattered.

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: Named after British economist Charles GoodhartA British economist born in 1936. , this rule states that when a measure becomes a target it stops being a good measure.³ Today we set targets for everything: education, the environment, the gender gap. 

But these targets can make people focus on technically meeting the target instead of actually improving things. For example, someone whose target is to sell 50 pairs of shoes might end up selling some at a loss just to hit their quotaA fixed or limited amount that is officially allowed. .

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 research shows it is much more useful to write about it. This is the generation effect: information is retained more easily if it comes from within our own minds.

Studies have found that the sensory-motor activityActivities that involve the brain and body receiving information and then reacting to it with movement. of writing helps us to recall information.⁵ Moreover, it is easy to read something without really understanding it. In contrast, you cannot write about something until you have understood it entirely.

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 on grounds that we have given that much to charity. But this is a fallacy.

Ambiguity aversion: In general, we prefer a certain bad outcome to an uncertain one. This is best demonstrated through the Ellsberg paradox. If people are given two urns, one with 50 red and 50 black balls and the other with 100 total balls but in unknown proportion, they prefer to bet on the 50/50 outcome in the first than take the risk with the second, which could have anything from a 0% chance of success to a 100% chance.⁶

This does not always serve us well. Taking risks is important in life. Even if they do not pay off, we usually learn more from them than we do just carrying on in the same old way.

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 innate 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 proverb runs: "Ask he who has experience, not the wise man". We should focus less on wisdom and more on experience.