Do wrinkles on the face tell you anything about wrinkles on the brain? It's commonly believed that that grandpa has more knowledge than his young whippersnapper of a grandkid. Does the theory hold up?
While philosophers and religious traditions have provided readings on the nature of wisdom for centuries, the concept didn't become a subject of scientific study until 1950. That's when psychoanalyst Erik Erikson created an eight-stage theory of the human life cycle. In each stage, a person faces an internal struggle that develops different aspects of personality.
For example, an infant's struggle is the battle between trust and mistrust; when infants feel they can trust those around them, they develop a sense of hope
last stage, old age, people grapple with the balance between their personal sense of integrity and defeat in the face of
death and physical disintegration. If integrity wins out, then the result, according to Erikson, is wisdom.
clipped from: health.howstuffworks.com 