the trifecta: wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge in age of data
we measure everything now—steps, sleep, performance—but rarely ask what all that knowing costs us. this is a story about rediscovering the intelligence that doesn’t need an app to prove it exists.
the pace of my walk quickened as my mind drifted to the times we live in. not a single sentence seems to pass without the letters a and i. in this age of dashboards and datasets—where even young children know how to run a vlookup—i can’t help but ask:
are we losing the sense of self that lives inside intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom?
i remember falling in love with the theory of multiple intelligences in college. the idea that we could have more than one—and that everyone learns differently—gave me hope for what i now understand as a neurodivergent mind.
but now, surrounded by large language models and agentic ai, by autonomy that belongs to machines rather than souls, i find myself circling the same question:
how far have we strayed from our original intelligence—our inner knowing?
the body knows when to rest.
the inner voice knows when to stop—or go.
yet we keep outsourcing those knowings to metrics, dashboards, and search bars.
naming the terrain
before we go any further, let’s agree on what we mean.
wisdom
wisdom feels like proximity to the unseen. those who’ve lived long enough to soften into mystery carry it. it’s deep, rooted, and otherworldly—what people call an old soul. wisdom is knowing without needing to prove.
intelligence
intelligence is both natural and learned. it shows up in curiosity. it’s the quick decision to jump off the 6 train at the perfect second—a new yorker’s intuition wrapped in pattern recognition. it’s how the soul processes reality.
knowledge
knowledge is the only one we choose. it’s the decision to seek a trade, study a subject, or absorb information with the intention of keeping it. it’s curiosity put to work.
the stunning stupidity of the information age
now that we’ve named these three, can we talk about the stunning stupidity rising in an age of abundance?
information has never been more available—yet the appetite for true knowing feels smaller by the day.
when was the last time you went down a rabbit hole purely out of wonder?
not to monetize. not to post. just to learn because something shimmered with mystery.
the journey from knowledge to wisdom
twenty years ago, desperation became my teacher.
my baby girl’s skin was angry with eczema, and nothing the doctors prescribed was working. so i did what any mother would do—i researched. not casually, but ferociously. journals, studies, ph levels, the microbiome. i learned that our skin is the only organ we routinely judge—for color, texture, and time itself.
that quest for knowledge—born from love—transformed me into a student of the body. i learned what troubled skin needed, what healed it, and what harmed it.
years later, that knowledge became healed body, my natural body care company. intelligence took everything i’d learned and asked: how do i share this? how do i help others?
the business became my vehicle for applying two decades of research.
and then wisdom entered the room.
because in the process of building and reimagining this business, something in me softened. i began to love my freckles, my moles, even the reduction in collagen society tells me to fear. i call the stretch marks on my stomach my tiger stripes—proof that i brought two beautiful souls into this world.
the biology of it is knowledge.
the acceptance of it is wisdom.
the data paradox
by day, i talk about data. i build dashboards, analyze metrics, and read trends until they tell stories. i believe in the power of data—until it begins to replace discernment.
we’ve grown so reliant on data that we’ve started to distrust our own signals.
the divine wisdom of the body—its quiet guidance—is the most sophisticated intelligence of them all.
what if we used wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge together instead of treating data as the highest truth? data is external. the trifecta lives inside you.
it’s the voice that says, rest.
the curiosity that leads you to research for no reason but wonder.
the deep knowing that comes from being alive in this body, tethered to something greater.
all those dashboards we worship? they’re only reflections of what we’ve already created.
data is the echo.
we are the source.
the invitation
so here’s my invitation:
can you seek wisdom instead of consumption?
can you listen to your body before checking your metrics?
can you trust your intuition before googling the answer?
can you learn something simply because it captivates you, not because it serves your brand or bottom line?
the trifecta—wisdom, intelligence, knowledge—already lives within you.
it’s ancient, radiant, self-correcting.
maybe it’s time we remembered that—
and trusted it again.
about ja’nohn
writer, founder, and philosopher of original intelligence—a movement and emerging institute exploring the intersection of human wisdom, ethical ai, and embodied leadership. her work invites a return to knowing, reminding us that data may inform, but only consciousness transforms.