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Does Wisdom Come With Age?

By Athan Bezaitis on September 28, 2009 10:42 AM

  • Does Wisdom Come With Age?
  • Sidney Harman remains sharp and thoughtful at 91.
  • Photo/Athan Bezaitis

Sidney Harman, founder and former CEO of audio-equipment giant Harman International Industries and the first Judge Widney Professor of Business at USC, presented a lecture at the USC Davis School of Gerontology on Sept. 23.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you I’m the poster boy for the school of gerontology, but really, I am,” Harman quipped to a classroom filled with students, faculty and Andrus Volunteers.

If anyone can make such a claim with real merit, it’s Harman, who at 91 still plays golf while shuttling between residences in Southern California and Washington, D.C., and remains committed to endeavors in higher education, government, philanthropy and industry.

His talk centered on the myth that wisdom comes naturally with age.

“Dementia is more likely to come with age than wisdom,” he said. “It’s not an automatic gift; rather, it’s an opportunity that comes from the synthesis of knowledge, judgment and appropriate doubt.”

Encouraging students to constantly challenge themselves, he called his remarkable path a “gypsy life” that has given him a unique perspective.

He also offered sage advice to those looking for employment in the current economy.

“The wider the bandwidth of your intellectual preparation for life, the better prepared you’ll be for the interview,” he said. “Read the company’s annual report, say something that suggests you pay attention to their business and always remember to give the interviewer a chance to speak.”

While he believes that leadership and wisdom cannot be taught, he holds top-flight universities such as USC responsible for harnessing the talented thinkers of tomorrow.

“Deans and faculty, if I may, need to recognize the potential for wisdom and for leadership in every student, to nourish it and to encourage it and to facilitate it. This goes back to Aristotle, who argued that education is not the opening of a vessel to be filled with information, but the inspiration and encouragement of the pursuit knowledge, like the kindling of a flame.”

The concept resonated with dean Gerald C. Davison, who said the idea is very much a part of the USC Davis School mission.

“As he did when he spoke to us last year, Dr. Harman demonstrated creativity, energy and broad knowledge.”

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