how do the wise become wise

I think that you people left out one VERY important point. Some Elves had been alive for over 3000 years, ie. Elrond, Galadriel, Celeborn, etc... Do you not think that they had seen battle? They had only fought orks for thousands of years, and if they survived, they must have been able to predict what the orks were going to do... Wise could just be something that you had experienced in the past... Thought that I should bring that up.