The circle of our wisdom
A gentle nudge toward the people (and pixels) shaping our lives
“We are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.” — David P. Brown
But… what if that list isn't who you think it is?
We’re often told to choose our friends wisely. To keep good company. But maybe, the deepest, most enduring lessons of life aren’t always exchanged across dinner tables or conference room corners.
This week, we bring you a glimmer from the ‘Data Narratives’ segment of the World Wisdom Map - a repository which includes life lessons and stories from people in 195 countries. When we found ourselves looking at the growing forest of data, we realised: we needed to listen to what it was trying to say.
With the help of Ruchika Singh, a data scientist, we were able to uncover one of the fundamental questions: “Who do we really learn from?” Over months of sifting, sorting, and spotting patterns, Ruchika—alongside brilliant data visualizer Rasagy Sharma, our data fireflies revealed an astonishing truth:
The people shaping our wisdom aren’t always in our inner circle. They’re not necessarily the five people on your speed dial. In fact, they often sit on the outer edges of our everyday lives. That includes the stranger you met on a train in Himachal with a habit of smiling through the monsoons, the YouTuber that accompanies you during lunch breaks and the author whose words live in your phone gallery as cherished screenshots.
Data suggests that 47% of life lessons were inspired by the outer circle of influence, which includes society, strangers and public idols. We’re just as likely to follow Taylor Swift’s advice to “be patient” as we are to heed our mother’s voice in a moment of stress!
It shows us how playful and porous our mind can truly be. A celebration of how open our learning can be if we just lean in and engage with the world around us.
Try This: Your Circle of Wisdom
Grab a notebook. Or the back of a receipt.
Draw three concentric circles. Label them Inner, Middle, and Outer.
Now fill in the names of the people (real or fictional, near or far, living or passed) who’ve shaped your thinking, values, or life choices.
Notice which circle feels fullest. Notice who surprises you.
And maybe… send a thank you into the world!
With firefly glows,
Team FUEL
[Disclaimer: The inferences and analysis above are based on a sample of 230 individual stories provided voluntarily by respondents. For more details and such insights, click here!]