||1:ONE stereotype of wisdom is a wizened Zen-master smiling benevolently at the antics of his pupils, while referring to them as little grasshoppers or some such affectation, safe in the knowledge that one day they, too, will have been set on the path that leads to wizened masterhood .||2:But is it true that age brings wisdom? A study two years ago in North America, by Igor Grossmann of the University of Waterloo, in Canada, suggested that it is.||3:In as much as it is possible to quantify wisdom, Dr Grossmann found that elderly Americans had more of it than youngsters.||4:He has, however, now extended his investigation to Asia-the land of the wizened Zen-master-and, in particular, to Japan.||5:There, he found, in contrast to the West, that the grasshoppers are their masters’ equals almost from the beginning.

||1:提到智慧的时候，人们脑海里总会出现这样一个老套的画面：一个削瘦的禅宗大师面容慈祥的对他的弟子微笑着，一边叫他们“小不点”，心中十分确定他们迟早会走上这条通往智慧的禅宗之道。||2:但是智慧真的与年龄有关吗？两年前，加拿大滑铁卢大学Igor Grossmann博士的研究显示情况的确如此。||3:由于智慧可以标准量化，他发现年长的美国人的确比年轻人要聪明。||4:但是，如今他将调查扩展至整个亚洲——这个拥有禅宗大师的神奇土地——特别是日本。||5:在那里他发现，与西方相比，几乎从一开始，这些弟子与大师在智力方面难分伯仲 。

ONE stereotype of wisdom is a wizened Zen-master smiling benevolently at the antics of his pupils, while referring to them as little grasshoppers or some such affectation, safe in the knowledge that one day they, too, will have been set on the path that leads to wizened masterhood .

提到智慧的时候，人们脑海里总会出现这样一个老套的画面：一个削瘦的禅宗大师面容慈祥的对他的弟子微笑着，一边叫他们小不点，心中十分确定他们迟早会走上这条通往智慧的禅宗之道。