[Jensson]

So you used to build wisdom, but now that you are older you don't feel like you need to become wiser so you just take the easy route.

There is a reason all education depends on students trying and failing to solve problems, that is how we learn things properly. When you stop doing that you stop learning new things at a deeper level.

[papito]

I look back, and I realize I wasted a lot of time on brute force, instead of just reading the docs, in many cases.

What you are describing in the opposite of wisdom - that's just perseverance.

[Jensson]

When you try and fail you learn a lot about what failure looks like, and that helps you identify failure modes in production etc. It is just ignorance to think you could become as effective from just reading docs.

Note, I am not saying that it is unwise to read docs, but you don't become wise by reading docs, you become wise by making mistakes. Wisdom isn't built by following wise advice.

[gbro3n]

I often find reading about 1/3 of docs / books is optimal. After that practical experience becomes more beneficial. Then when you encounter problems, search for specific information to resolve the issues most relevant to your goals.