The wise are useless. At best, they are irritants. For wisdom is forever barking up the wrong tree. That is, the tree from which nothing whatsoever can be made.

Addendum I (July 12, 2011)

For the fainthearted, this haiku harks back to Chuang Tzu (“Useless Tree,” December 11, 1993). The Chinese philosopher lived in the Fourth Century Before Christ, but his wisdom survives to this day. No less than a miracle of uselessness, no doubt.

Addendum II (November 12, 2015)

Two Travelers, worn out by the heat of the summer’s sun, laid themselves down at noon under the widespreading branches of a Plane-tree. As they rested under its shade, one of the Travelers said to the other: “What a singularly useless tree is the Plane! It bears no fruit, and is not of the least service to man.” Interrupting him, the Plane-tree said: “You ungrateful fellows! Do you, while receiving benefits from me and resting under my shade, dare to describe me as useless?”

From Aesop’s Fables, translated by George Fyler Townsend, Collins Classics, London: Harper Press, 2011, p. 303.