The Creative Contrarian

Wise Fool Strategy # 15Find What's out of Whack

“The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.”

— Dorothy Parker, American Critic

The Wise Fool's tongue is the embodiment of her cleverness. When her wits are sharp, she is alert and able to make discerning, often pointed observations. Sometimes her quips are acerbic — all the better to cut through their objects' pomp and pretense. A famous example is this exchange between two 18th-century British gentlemen who clearly did not like one another (the former a statesman, and the latter a radical journalist who loathed upper-class hypocrisy):

John Montague: Sir, I do not know whether you will die on the gallows or of the pox.

John Wilkes: That will depend, my lord, whether I embrace your principles or your mistress.

Sometimes the Wise Fool adopts the role of a comedian or satirist. When she does, she articulates the incongruities that are part of our daily lives. For example, comedienne Joan Rivers once quipped:

A man can sleep around. But if a woman makes nineteen or twenty mistakes, she's a tramp.

Our initial reaction is laughter. But she also brings to the surface a cultural double standard, and this makes us think — even for just a bit — about some of the contradictions inherent in our own belief systems.

Pointing out incongruities is one of the Wise Fool's favorite activities. She enjoys ...