Y’know, I have been writing this blog for some time now. Combined with my time as a print columnist I have now passed 20 years of contributions of, well, whatever it is that I have contributed over that time.It all started with a story of two futures for my chosen profession that I had written and submitted to then editor Karen Welds as something they might publish.It was kinda long for a letter to the editor, but they liked it enough to publish it. And then Karen asked me if I would write something regularly and since it did not require any sort of exhaustive research I agreed.Because of this longevity (or notoriety, or perhaps even incredulity), I am asked all the time by lots of people what makes me so wise. Well, not all of the time, but once in a while.And not lots of people, but there was one time when my youngest daughter asked me what made me so wise. She was six, and come to think of it, she was kinda sarcastic when she did (like mother like daughter).Still, is it wisdom? I mean the conventional wisdom about wisdom is that you cannot declare yourself wise, as in the Socratic version that Socrates is wise because he does not claim to be—sort of a wisdom Catch-22.But this version also requires a knowledge of support for the wisdom, a proof ready to challenge that wisdom of others that they cannot support through knowledge, adding a third element to the humility and accuracy required for wisdom.Living well may add an important fourth element, although it is possible that the wise may not live well, while it may be that the unifying component of all wisdom is rationality. Or is it wisdom to just read a treatise on wisdom and BS your way through a description of wisdom?Some might say wisdom comes from education. And the commitment to academic effort and excellence suggests developing and expanding knowledge to, in turn, impart to others. But is that wisdom?Others might suggest that wisdom is ascertained with the recognition of awards and accolades that identify those who stand out amongst their peers. But is it enough for wisdom? Or is it being a leader that shows wisdom, or the experience of leading that gives wisdom, or is there something more?As elusive as the definition is, there is something that can truly define wisdom—a track record.And so I go back to that first attempt at regaling my colleagues about ideas about this profession. I predicted that in the future the pharmaceutical industry would condense until there were only four or five main manufacturers.I also predicted that the pharmacy industry would devolve from independent pharmacies to chains, and that the number of chains would, in turn, decline as they amalgamated over the coming years as well.I also suggested that this would not be good for the profession of pharmacy because the autonomy of the professional was key to the advancement of our profession and the better health of the public we serve.To be fair, I also proposed an alternative world that would be much different and pharmacists would assume their rightful place in health care, although I can honestly say I believed the former would happen, and only hoped for the latter.Some may say they could have predicted the same thing, to which I could ask where it is written. Because there is one thing we know for sure about dispensing wisdom—if it ain’t written, it didn’t happen.And of course I (wisely) will predict that there are some who will claim I am not wise. They will say my suggestions and conclusions are incorrect, but that is OK because wisdom is only observable and appreciated when exposed to the lack of it.Which gets me back to the thing that my youngest does ask me regularly. In somewhat a reversal of roles she asks me why so often I act like a smart ass.To which I can only respond that to be a wise guy sometimes you have to be a wise guy.Ken Burns is pharmacist at the Diabetes Care Centre at Sudbury Regional Hospital.