Buckminster Fuller, is best known as an architect and inventor. He was also a futurist, who in 1982 developed the concept of the ‘Knowledge Doubling Curve.’ Throughout his life, Fuller charted the growth of human knowledge.
Prior to 1900, the world’s collective intelligence is estimated to have doubled every 100 years. The personal computer revolution of the 1980’s dropped the knowledge doubling time to 13 months. It is now estimated that knowledge is doubling every 12 hours. No wonder we have trouble keeping up.
As knowledge increases, our ability to process and use this information remains static. We know more, but do we have the wisdom to use the information to make life better for everyone? There is certainly a knowledge-wisdom gap, that is getting wider by the minute. Artificial intelligence is one of the factors. Computers are getting smarter. We are not.
The area where humans have the advantage is wisdom. Computers are only as wise as the people creating them. We are confronted every day with examples that tell us the people creating artificial intelligence are not wise in the areas that matter most.
Wisdom is a topic in our scriptures this Sunday, the 32nd in Ordinary Time. The Bible usually addresses wisdom in the feminine gender. Why men are excluded is a topic for another NUGGETS reflection.
References to wisdom can be found throughout the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments. There is even a Book of Wisdom, from which the 1st reading this Sunday is taken.
Today we see that wisdom has many components. Being wise requires effort on our part. We must seek wisdom in our lives in general, but especially in our spiritual lives. Our eternal salvation depends upon it.
In today’s Gospel we see the example of the 10 virgins. 5 were wise in preparing for the arrival of the bridegroom at a wedding feast and 5 were foolish. The image of a bridegroom refers to Christ returning at the end of time.
In our Gospel, the 5 foolish virgins were not ready and so were locked out when the bridegroom arrived at the wedding feast. So too for us if we are not wise preparing for the arrival of Christ at the end of time for our world or the end of time for each of us. We know not when it will occur.
Seek wisdom wherever it may be found. Start with the Bible. Seek wisdom in the homilies at Mass. Wisdom can be found in our prayer moments and in good Christian literature. We cannot afford to be foolish. Don’t rely only on artificial intelligence and the rapidly increasing knowledge in our world. BE WISE!
In Christ,
Dcn. Marty
