It took me some time - had too much to do outdoors - before I had time to judge Weekly Challenge #218.
I must say it wasn't an easy job this time! I guess the only one to blame is me myself, because I chose a rather cryptic subject for this week - wisdom - and I knew beforehand you probably could come up with very different takes on this one... And you did. Probably next time I will choose something like 'toilet doors' or something equally unambiguous....

Enough talking. I will comment shortly on all entered photos, in incoming order.

Mike (L): great shot, fitting the brief very well. I love the light in this one. Some would argue the overexposed book is distracting, but I think it reflects the light very well to the face of the monk, and it adds to the photo in itself: enlightenment through reading/learning.....

Runnegut123: haha, nice, you took the opposite of wisdom, great. Nice photo, with lots to see. I don't think it is too exciting though (I know, completely subjective!)

Bruce: great shot of what is a statue, I guess. I love the subtle subdued tones, as well as the lighting with the slight shadow on the backdrop. Of course it fits the brief. Somehow quite intriguing...

Tim: very nice portrait of a young lady carrying books.... lovely. Nothing to add....

Bill: together with the quote the photo is very to the point. Nice shot, with nicely balanced light (white flowers are always a bit of a problem to shoot well), but I am not quite sure about the sharpness. The petals are very sharp, but the stamens in the heart..... I am not sure.....

Tess: after some minutes of thinking what I am looking at (it's in an aquarium, isn't it?) I read the quote above your photo, and it made me grin.... Funny! I wouldn't hang this one on the wall though, so I hope you forgive me I don't let you win....

Lukulele: a photo I am twisted about.... Too far from the subject, was my first impression.... But then I kept coming back, and I did not know why. Now I think it is the emptiness surrounding the eminent scientist, who worked hard to reach the top. It can be a lonely road.... The other side: sometimes science operates without environment, as if science is work without relation to reality.... (who is looking to her?)
To come back to photography: the photo could be a bit sharper, I think....

Dave: Very funny, and fitting the brief. Where did you meet him? Nice shot, but the eyes are not sharp. You should know when entering a portrait you have to post one with sharp eyes, otherwise you're out of competition....

Sparkle: nice take in combination with the text, but a photo of a screenshot....

Mr. Brackish Water: very nice shot, from your Single in September album (which is worth visiting!). There is a strange bluish glow in the photo, but I think it is the sky reflecting on the bronze of the statue? Love this photo...

Joe: It's a moving story, and worth to pay attention to. Great shot of Casper.... Would have been better 'on level', not from above. But I like it the way it is. Very well lit too! (You can see the bluish light in the shadow, why should one want to balance that?)

Susan: Great shot, great moment! The little one seems to be dedicated to learn.... Zoo, or in the wild?

Norman: nice scenery! I would love to go there, especially with such a nice dawn (I guess). Good photo, but too noisy in the foreground for my liking.

Charlie: congrats! (A bit late, I know....) Funny birthday cart, and so right! Nice photo too...

Tamia: Probably the tree of wisdom, although it's more of a trunk..... (sadly) very nice photo, good composition and lighting. Graveyards are among my favourite places to make photos....

Giorgos: Yes, your photo is very well on topic! And I like it. The treatment, as well as the vagueness of the figure in front, reading. Well done!

Noel: Nice photo of a very beautiful species! Off the road they must be hardly visible, considering their colour and the colour of the grass in the background.... The photo could be sharper, but all in all I like it!

Gerbermiester: Somehow this theme makes the people come up with funny thoughts and quotes etc..... Like it. And I like your photo, with the enigmatic face of buddha.... Fit's the brief very well, something to think about....

Tom: an owl finally! I expected dozens of them, but you're the only one in the end.... Nice, but I would have cropped it to the upper half, or probably even slightly less...

Thank you all for your entries! I liked it a lot, your comments, thoughts, and above all your photographic interpretation of the theme. Thank you again for joining. In the end I have to choose a winner though, and I choose completely subjectively: which photo moves my heart?

First some honourable mentions: Gerbermiester, with the photo from the Anthropological Museum, and Joe, with the photo of his deceased cat Casper. Congrats!

Here comes the top three!

Third: Bruce


Second: Giorgos


And the winner: Mike

[Bramela]

Thanks rense for the 3rd place. Congrats to the Giorgos and Mike. That winning shot is indeed, a top shot, picked it out soon as it appeared.

[Sparkle]

No, please don't understand me wrong! No restriction on how to enter your photo! It's just that it ruins the quality of the photo. I like the idea, I probably could like the photo, but there are too many artefacts in it right now, just because it is a photo of a screen. Sorry if I have been rude in my comment... :

I hate to belabor the point but I was under the impression that it was not a photo in response that was being judged but rather the caption and/or idea that it invoked.

[Rense]

Sparkle: the idea was great!

[Rense]

Touché