About Wisdom

Wisdom is a small, selective collection of clear explanations of life lessons that children might not otherwise come across. Each one is written to be approachable from about age eight, and worthwhile for older readers and for the adults reading alongside them. It doesn’t try to cover everything a young person might need to know; each lesson exists because it earned its place, not to complete a curriculum.

How it’s made

Every lesson starts with research rather than opinion. Findings, their sources and their limits are kept openly in a research library organised by topic, alongside the rest of the project’s source code. The people and stories inside the lessons themselves are fictional examples, built to make an idea concrete, not case studies or predictions about anyone real. Where a lesson uses a picture, a game or a diagram, its job is to explain a mechanism, not to measure or rank a life.

What’s here now

Lesson 1, Choices — The paths we make, explains how choices add up over time, how learning can build on learning, and how much is shaped by circumstances, support and chance that nobody gets to choose. Its notes for grown-ups cover how to use it with a child and what the evidence behind it does and doesn’t say.

What’s planned

More lessons are planned, in this order: habits and daily practice; how we make choices; what makes a happy life; relationships; and how to learn. None of these exist yet. This page will be updated as each one is ready to read.

Find out more

The research library and source code are both public. Questions and corrections are welcome there.