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Of owls and men (not to mention women)

Shiv Harsh
The Courier-Tribune

Symbols of wisdom abound in the history of mankind. Why? I suspect people looked at their peers and, not impressed by their intellect, turned to the animal kingdom for inspiration. As a wise guy once said, “Being human is exhausting. So be an owl.”

Are we born with some programmed wisdom? Who knows! But we are pretty helpless through much of childhood, and need care, skills and knowledge to survive and flourish. Some more than others. Parents are obviously a valuable resource, but they can’t teach you everything. Thus the search for knowledge and wisdom. Which are not always the same.

You can acquire skills by watching others, or by obtaining a formal education. Education has been valued greatly by many cultures, and we have had some highly educated folks in leadership positions all over the world. Yet the human race keeps making the same blunders over and over again. So does an education really impart wisdom?

Mark Twain had a thing or two to say about education. “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education,” he once said. He himself was never educated formally beyond primary school. Given the state of formal education in those days, it was just as well. “Some people get an education without going to college. The rest get it after they get out,” was his opinion.

He left school after the fifth grade to become a printer’s apprentice. He educated himself in public libraries in the evenings, finding wider information than at a regular school. His view about colleges? “All schools, all colleges have two great functions: to confer, and to conceal valuable knowledge.”

How do you convert knowledge into wisdom? With great difficulty. Socrates stated “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” And if you know nothing, you seek out someone who knows a thing or two. A wise guy. Thus the oracle of Delphi. The Greeks built a sanctuary in the eighth century BC in Delphi, the home for the oracle of Delphi, the Greek god Apollo, and the priestess Pythia. She was the “wise guy” who could tell the future and was consulted before all major undertakings.

Interestingly, there were about twenty more oracles of Apollo at various other sites. If one is good … Anyway, the Greeks hedged their bets, and appointed some oracles of the god Zeus as well, at Olympia, Dodona, and in Libya. Wouldn’t do to annoy good old Zeus.

Well, choosing gods and building shrines to them was too much trouble. So many cultures settled on animals as symbols of wisdom. Starting with an owl. Why an owl? Owls have very large eyes, making them appear insightful. And they can see in the dark, when other creatures are at a loss. So they seem to have unusual powers of discernment. They can catch their prey in conditions where other animals would give up. Problem solved. That clearly takes some wisdom.

They watch, they listen, and they don’t make much noise. Not qualities associated with fools.

Well, the ancient folks had gods for everything, and even a few goddesses. Not surprisingly, there is one for wisdom, and a lady to boot: Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Of course, the Romans had to be different. They called her Minerva. Different name, same attributes.

How is she depicted? With bright eyes, and an owl perched on her hand! Forget the goddess, retain the owl. Wise, indeed. No need to offer any sacrifices to the owl. It is quite proficient at catching its own victims, thank you very much!

In addition, an owl has a very human-like face. You look at it, and you see a face like yourself. Such a creature must be wise. But are they, really? Actually, most of the space inside their heads is dedicated to optimizing their hearing, and their large eyes. Not much real estate left over for a substantive brain! In fact, in India, they are considered dumb and empty-headed, since they just sit there and stare blankly into space. In fact, the Hindi word for an owl (oollu), when used for a human being, means “a fool.”

So if you want wisdom, you might be better off traveling to Delphi!

Shiv Harsh is a physician who lives in Asheboro with his wife. Contact: Twitter: @SHIVHARSH1 or his blog at