You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, gain understanding (Proverbs 8:5).

When I read Proverbs 8:5, it sounds to me like a read-and-adjust kind of situation.  If you find that you're dealing with Situation A, employ Solution #1; if you find that you're dealing with Situation B, employ Solution #2.  If the defense shows blitz, audible to a play-action pass; but if the defense appears to be settled back in a pass coverage, audible to an off-tackle run.  Feed a cold; starve the flu.  You know what I mean?  If it's simplicity that you're dealing with, you need to think in the direction of gaining prudence; if it's folly, however, you need to figure out a way to gain understanding.  I'm honestly not sure if the Proverb is supposed to be read that way, but it's interesting to think along these lines.

I looked up the four key words of Proverbs 8:5 -- simple, prudence, foolish, and understanding -- in both an exhaustive concordance and in an American dictionary, and I thought it was very interesting to see the differences between simplicity and folly, prudence and understanding, and to figure out some possible correlations.  The full (or at least the full explanation of the relevant parts of the) definitions from these two resources are copied below, in case you'd like to study them out more for yourself.  But these are a few of the things that struck me from these word studies...

Simplicity and Folly have some obvious similarities, in that both terms deal with someone who is not acting out of wisdom.  But it's interesting to note that these terms differ from one another in that simplicity has a greater sense of innocence; while folly might indicate more of a willful act of stupidity.  Simplicity seems to be marked by mindlessness and a lack of common sense; while folly is more about smart people acting stupidly, ridiculously, and willfully disobedient.  Neither simplicity nor folly is good or desirable -- but they seem to come from slightly different places, and thus will need to be "treated" with slightly different "medicines."

For someone who is simple -- easily deceived or persuaded, mindless, quickly confused -- what is most needed is prudence.  Prudence basically means deliberate thinking, specifically going out of one's way to use common sense and caution in managing a particular situation.  It means not reacting purely out of instinct but slowly and deliberately working through the possibilities for a given situation and making an informed decision about how to respond.  Simple people need to exercise their minds more.

On the other hand, for someone who is foolish -- stupid, insolent, willfully disobedient, woefully disregarding the moral impact of their decisions -- what is most needed is understanding.  Understanding basically means getting to the real heart of the matter, both as it respects the immediately involved person, himself, and as it involves others around him.  Thought needs to be given to the question of WHY a particular impulse is asserting itself.  There needs to be a deeper analysis of the emotional impact of one's natural thoughts, feelings, and actions.  Empathy towards others needs to be developed, in order to get a better sense of how a person's actions can affect others.  Essentially, foolish people need to exercise their hearts more.

Interesting stuff, isn't it?  I confess that my analysis here is a little bit half-baked.  But it definitely feels like there's something there -- a challenge to consider if an individuals heart or head needs more desperately to be awakened.  Which one tends to be your greater downfall?  How can you develop the appropriate counter-measures in your life?

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Simple (by Strong's) - 7343, petî - simple, nave, someone easily deceived or persuaded; simple (15), simplehearted (1)

Simple (by Webster's) - (as relates to a person) - without guile or deceit; innocent; artless... without ostentation or affectation; natural; lacking sophistication; naive... of low rank or position; specifically humble, lowly, common, ordinary... having or showing little sense or reasoning ability; easily misled or deceived; stupid or foolish; uneducated or ignorant... a persona who is ignorant or easily misled... a person of humble position

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Prudence (by Strong's) - 6893, 'ormâ - prudence, cunning; prudence (3), deliberately (1), ruse (1)

Prudence (by Webster's) - careful management; economy... capable of exercising sound judgment in practical matters, especially as concerns one's own interests... cautious or discreet in conduct; circumspect; not rash...

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Foolish (by Strong's) - 4067, kesîl - foolish, stupid, insolent; (n.) fool, insolent person: fool (36), fools (21), foolish (9), fool's (4)

Foolish (by Webster's) - without good sense or wisdom; silly; unwise; ridiculous; absurd; abashed; embarrassed; humble; worthless

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Understanding (by Strong's) - 4213, leb - heart, the inner person, self, the seat of thought and emotion, conscience, courage, mind, understanding; heart (310), hearts (74), mind (21), judgment (11), himself (10), attention (7), minds (7), skilled (6), in high spirits (5), understanding (5), + numerous other variations in translation with 2 or fewer instances in the Old Testament

Understanding (by Webster's) - the mental quality, act, or state of a person who understnad; conprehension, knowledge, discernment, sympathetic awareness, etc... the power or ability to think, learn, judge, etc.; intelligence, sense... mutual comprehension, as of ideas, intentions, etc... a mutual agreement, especially one that settles differences or is informal and not made public