Common Sense

The question I pose: Is common sense a myth or reality?

Perception is subjective. My truths undoubtedly differ from your truths. Shared judgments occur, but within the context of our own truths. This article expands on my hypothesis:

Common Sense Is Neither Common nor Sense | Psychology Today

What do you think?

I see common sense as something a person acquires in life due to experience. And at some age range, the person is expected by most folks to know these certain bits of information and act in the "appropriate" way. I can see it as possibly varying from culture to culture and perhaps from subculture to subculture and so on.

I don't think that smoking and the other actions mentioned in "Psychology Today" would be examples of not using common sense. Now, making sure to take the cigarette out of the pack before lighting it would be common sense to me.

We don't say that a baby has common sense. But over time we learn about fire and watch people engage in their preparations to smoke.

I am just thinking out loud here. Please don't say I don't have any common sense!

My take on common sense is a bit different. I see it as a bit more intuitive and not so much experience based. That is, some people have it, others, not so much. My mom has always said I was the one who had the most common sense out of all my siblings, whereas my sister didn't have as much. To her credit, my sister is incredibly intelligent and very book smart, so this isn't a criticism of her at all. Rather, my mom can see us both a bit more objectively than we can see each other.

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!

I guess it is something like the word "reasonable". For example, the 4th amendment to the Constitution prohibits "unreasonable" search or seizure, but the exact meaning of this has been discussed for more than 200 years, in the Supreme Court and elsewhere.

Highly intriguing thread.

Interesting thread

I believe "Common Sense" is just a term we have learned to use/judge someone's behavior.

As we evloved to stay alive it was in our best interest to "learn" how to make good decisions.

Sometimes areas of the brain having to do with making good decisions did not develop very well...so we attempt to teach those individuals to behave as society expects....even though they may never develop "common sense" on their own.

The brain wants to feel good and will at times go to things that make it feel good - even if it is dangerous. If the consequences are too terrible - a wise decision (common sense?) would be to find ways to understand what the brain is doing and learn how "retrained" the brain so not to destroy yourself.

Perception may be subjective and relative but I think common sense is the shared perception of relatively good perception People with "common sense" tend to identify each other and agree with who does not have it so one can say, "It's just common sense!" and the other agree with them.

The problem with "common sense" is that it ain't common!

I believe that it is in part inherent, but also learned. How's that for sitting on the fence? Like Trav mentioned, we don't expect babies to make rational decisions, but by the time a person is an adult we expect that they should be able to think through the consequences for actions. If I do this, that is going to happen.

My husband was a genius, but had absolutely no "common sense." He was scientifically trained, but when it came to everyday kind of stuff never made the connection between his choices and the consequences.

I think common sense is very basic-it's like the survival instinct. Once you try to put a campfire out with your face-it's commom sense that you won't do it again.

If you are waiting for an elevator and don't bother to look down when the doors open, and there is no elevator-common sense dictates that from now on you will look to make sure there is an elevator there before you take that first step.

Same thing with oncoming traffic. Once you watch someone get squashed like a bug because they stepped in front of a moving bus without looking-chances are you will have the common sense not to do it yourself.

Survival-logic-common sense. It doesn't much more basic than that.

As I suspected, common sense is a term with many perceptions, from duh to complex.

It seems like it's based on how the person wants to use it, as I think it means an abstract "knowledge all people should know." Just like the word, "stupid" means a person doesn't know enough. I kind of see "common sense" as the antithesis of "stupid." I think both have a chance to be used poorly in certain situations. But I'm biased because I've been told I have no common sense quite a lot...

I understand what common sense is supposed to mean. But I don't understand the huge variation in human behavior that you run into every day. There are people who make an effort and believe in caring for others and watch everything they say. And there are people who look as others as just specimens and are easily expendable and they don't care what comes out of their mouth (and none of this seems to bother their conscience). Walk through Manhattan like I did the other day and you'll see what I mean. It really messes with your head.

I need some.. rofl

I have Asperger's Syndrome. I regularly learn more and more about the universe, such as the other planets, galaxies, and even have dabbled in to quantum physics (OK I read a book about it, not like I am a genius or anything.) Thing is, these are things I am interested in. But the other day, my husband told me sometimes I lack common sense. I can't make connections between language and ideas and if my husband said he is tired, I couldn't make the connection that it meant he didn't want to go anywhere. So when I asked to go out, he was mad at me. I didn't understand why till he explained later. How am I supposed to know! Anyway, it seems like us "book smart" people can sometimes lack "street smarts."

I'm not one to say what common sence is as i also think i have none.I am more book smart, but also i had to learn common sence on the streets. I think common sence in my case was acquired by learning and watching others and trying to figure it all out.

Unfortunately there are folks in the world who cannot even figure it out by watching or being told. **** example**** given perhaps that person will not relate "I'm tired" to anything other than not going out. (Please no offense meant - just trying to express my experience using your example).

It seems to me part of the problem is not being able to discern "context".

Otherwise I agree that common sense is very uncommon!

I think common sense is as individual as the person who has it. I mean, I think we have all at some point or another thought "that person has no common sense" when in reality their common sense is just... different.

With humans it's hard to call anything common, eh?

NO....my STBXH.....never had any common sense for the 33 years I tried to live with him...there was no different about it....it just didn't exist in any form.....& I had no common sense NOT TO GET OUT SOONER....

On a more serious level.....when I was in my DBT group for 2 years.....I realized that the DBT term wise mind is in reality what common sense is. It's seeing the big picture & figuring out what actions you need to take to deal with the situations that get thrown at you on an every day basis. If you don't see the big picture then you can't pick out the best action you need to take to resolve a problem or deal with situations.

My STBXH had a high IQ.....but he couldn't communicate with anyone.....IE, he got a letter from the IRS regarding back taxes....he not only blew off the letter & the IRS because he couldn't figure out what they were saying....but he didn't even have the common decency to tell me about the letter because it was a problem with my inheritance money that he blew it on when he KNEW IT ALL & had to do the taxes instead of having them done correctly. 10 months later when I had the mail forwarded to my new farm (after I left him)....I get the 2nd letter from the IRS telling me that the first letter had been ignored. & he did the same thing with the property taxes for the home he is living in....just quit paying because he didn't have the money....then quit paying the house payment...but never said anything to anyone & wouldn't even talk to the mortgage company. The only time he sees the cliff his train is running straight toward is after it's gone over the cliff.....THAT IS NOT COMMON SENSE.

Someone with common sense realized a problem exists & does their best to figure out a solution & then how to put the solution into practice to solve the problem.....not JUST IGNORE IT..

He's 62 years old.....& I needed to be on the joint account while paying off the IRS problem......so now I found out that he has been running the checking account on a very high negative balance....almost negative 2000 each month & had been living by paying his bills using the overdraft that the credit union offered....they offered it not for it to be abused the way he is. The credit union said that I can't get off the account as long as it's negative....& it's only positive for a few days of the month......I nicely requested STBXH to let me know when it went positive because I had a check that could only be cashed in that joint account.....& I wanted off the account.....well, he never bothered to communicate.....& I found that the account had a very small balance....so I drove to a sister credit union in the state that I live in....cashed the check.....& came home & closed the account. Common sense told me that if I ever wanted to get off the account, that was the time to do it before they closed it themselves & tried to get any extra money from ME because my name was also on the account.....common sense helps you see the big picture & do what is necessary to protect yourself.......while his lack of common sense blinded him to the fact that the negative account was going to very soon be so negative that the credit union would have closed it.....common sense is asking how in the #@[[ is he going to pay his bills this month while common sense is also telling me.....that's his problem, he's made his bed now he's got to deal with it.....lack of common sense brings about many bad choices in life because the big picture isn't there. While his IQ was high (something he bragged about).......he can't even take care of himself financially & basically can't take care of himself in many other ways either.

There isn't even a twinge of common sense different or otherwise in his thinking.....& most of the time I swore he had no idea how to think at any level other than where his mind was....spaced out somewhere but NOT on drugs or alcohol.

I think common sense is real. Knowing the difference between right and wrong...weighing the consequences of one's actions and selecting the option that serves in your best interest or that of another. The choices one makes in life can be different for you and me as long as it is not at the expense of hurting others.

To me, common sense is inherent and partially learned (as Lizardlady said). You teach a child not to touch a hot stove or they will burn themselves (consequence). The child hears you but they are not convinced or don't really understand what you are saying. The child puts their hand on the stove but not near the flame. They think this is not bad, the stove doesn't hurt and so they go further and touch the grate...OUCH! That hurts! (learned)

Even the law recognizes common sense. The plead for insanity is based on the lack of having common sense (seeing the consequences of your actions). The claim is that they were so overwhelmed with emotion/fear/love/jealousy that all common sense was lost in the heat of the moment and insanity prevailed.

Not sure where I'm going with my thoughts here but maybe common sense vs. insanity.

Krisakira, I like the terms "book smart" and "street smart" better than "common sense." They seem to fit better.

Absolutely neither comes from studies,books etc,but it comes from the Experience,concentration and Presence of Mind.

Sorry, Glok, but the phrase "common sense" hurts me. Why?..... In my lifetime, I have been beat over the head with that phrase when ever I dont do something according to the thinking of "whoever". It hurts very much to be PUT DOWN by someone who thinks they have IT and I dont.

HA HA HA HA HA HA! thanks for this! probably the best definition i have ever heard!