Probably close to a year ago or so I read "Subliminal- How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior", by Leonard Mlodinow (Pantheon Books, 2012). Basically the book reviews what has been learned about the human mind as a result of the use of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) technology in studying the functioning of the brain.

In one part of this book, Mlodinow writes about what has been learned regarding the decision-making process. He writes that we traditionally have believed we gather information regarding a certain question and then make a decision based on the information we have gleaned.

However, Mlodinow writes, what fMRI studies suggest is that in fact what we do is first make a decision, then collect needed information, and finally we weight the various pieces of information as necessary in order to support the decision we made to begin with. (If true, this has stunning implications for the judicial process!)

Personally, I don't believe there is such a thing as common sense. I think this is simply a chimera that people use to hide the fact that they don't really know what they're talking about. But it's an interesting topic for discussion. Thanks for posting this!