Perspicacity

Look up perspicacity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Perspicacity (also called perspicaciousness) is a penetrating discernment (from the Latin perspicācitās, meaning throughsightedness, discrimination)—a clarity of vision or intellect which provides a deep understanding and insight.^[1] It extends the concept of wisdom by denoting a keenness of sense and intelligence applied to insight. It has been described as a deeper level of internalization.^[2] Another definition refers to it as the "ability to recognize subtle differences between similar objects or ideas".^[3]

The artist René Magritte illustrated the quality in his 1936 painting “La Clairvoyance” which is sometimes referred to in the English speaking world as Perspicacity. The picture shows an artist at work who studies his subject intently: it is an egg. But the painting he is creating is not of an egg; it is an adult bird in flight.^[4]

The word "perspicacity" also indicates practical wisdom in the areas of politics and finance.^[5] Being perspicacious about other people, rather than having false illusions, is a sign of good mental health.^[6] The quality is needed in psychotherapists who engage in person-to-person dialogue and counseling of the mentally ill.^[7]

Perspicacity is different from acuity, which also describes a keen insight. While having closely related meanings, acuity emphasises sharpness, and its definition encompasses physical abilities such as sight or hearing; perspicacity conveys senses of meaning more related to clarity and penetration.^[8]

In 1966, the journal Science discussed NASA scientist-astronaut program recruitment efforts:

To quote an Academy brochure, the quality most needed by a scientist-astronaut is "perspicacity." He must, the brochure says, be able to quickly pick out, from among the thousands of things he sees, those that are significant, and to synthesize observations and develop and test working hypotheses.^[9]