Knowledge and Wisdom

Ah, Aristotle.

I really like this guy. Wanna know why? I think it's because every person that's ever irritated me could benefit from reading Aristotle. It sounds kind of mean, but I think Aristotle has those insights into everyday concepts that really clear up the whole picture, if you think about it.

For example, his take on wisdom. Aristotle mentions that there are different ways in which we characterize knowledge. His seems to be a distinction based on practicality and doing things with knowledge, and that is precisely what intrigues me.
As a philosophy major, I've found the single most asked question regarding my major to be:

"What are you going to do with that?"

Most of the time, they haven't even missed a beat before asking. They haven't stopped to consider what a philosophy degree is. They've heard the name, now they want to see it do something. When I try explaining what philosophy is and how it is enriching regardless of what nails it teaches me to hammer, I can see peoples' eyes glazing over and their foreheads reading: "UNEMPLOYED."

This has been the hardest thing for my parents as well, and it's been up to me to really explain what Aristotle does in this chapter. There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom, seeing as there is the kind of knowledge one gets from the lab and that can be applied to a study, and there is the knowledge that one keeps inside oneself.
That kind of knowledge is, I think, analogous to wine while the other is more like a cheap beer. Yeah, it does the trick when you need it, but knowledge that comes from philosophy only gets better the more you cultivate it. It can come in handy for mixed drinks or a dinner, it can be part of a collection. The beer goes stale once you've found a newer, better one.

The rambling is the result of a topic that kind of hits close to home, but I hope I've expressed it somewhat coherently.