Is common sense all that common?

Answer 1

Most "common sense" is based more on hindsight than foresight. For every nugget of wisdom that might lead one to a decision, there is another nugget that would lead one in the opposite direction. For example, in deciding whether to take an opportunity that has become available: you should look before you leap, but the early bird gets the worm. Raising kids, getting exposed to viruses now makes them healthier later, but common sense also dictates that you don't put your baby in a room with sick children.

So, sure, common sense is common, but there is enough of it out there to be self-contradictory. Two people can use their common sense to come to opposite conclusions about almost anything.

Answer 2

It depends.

When most people speak of Common Sense, they really mean that conclusion which would be drawn by an ordinary person of ordinary mental capacity from their culture. What you call Common Sense may be an outrageous concept to someone from another culture.

For example, if you were trapped on an island with a large herd of wild pigs, you might say that common sense dictates you will be eating a lot of ham until you are rescued. But for an observant Muslim or Jew, or for a vegan, common sense dictates that you are going to follow the pigs around and see what they are eating so you will know what plants and water sources are safe. A graduate of MIT, though, in the absence of other cultural influences, might say that it is only common sense to gather the pig manure, dry it out, and use it as fuel for a signal fire, depending on the prevailing winds and where you might be in relation to shipping lanes. But a graduate from Texas A&M might look at the pigs and conclude that that particular breed of pig couldn't possibly survive in these conditions without human intervention and decide that common sense dictates that he should just stay with the pigs until their keeper arrives.

Answer 3

As common as the common cold. If it were not very common it would not be called that.

The better question might be "does much sense meet the criteria for common sense?" Or "do we often mistakenly call something common sense when it is not very common?"

It is common sense, isn't it, that if some bit of sense is not common, then it is not correctly called common sense? Therefore, if something is common sense, it is common. Simply, sense that is not common, is not common sense.

If it seems that most of what we call common sense is not really all that common, it does not mean that common sense is not all that common, it means we're calling the wrong things common sense.

Your question boils down to a word game.

Answer 4

Well, the way I see it is that common sense is what an individual person sees as logical. Not all people act or think the same way, so what common sense is to one person might not even occur to another person.

Education, a persons beliefs, and how someone was raised all come into play.

So I guess common sense isn't common—because it varies with each persons knowledge.

Answer 5

Well sure it is common..To me common sense is what I call having good horse sense. If you dont have horse sense or common sense you'd be up a creek without a paddle.

Answer 6

In today's society, common sense is a rare treasure.

Answer 7

Yeah, it's so common that it has become positively boring - that's why there are so many boring people swarming about.

Answer 8

You bet yea it is. And it is at a premium these days. Seems with all the pollutants, drugs, and stuff ..........no one in in control of any of it.

Answer 9

nope usally it's more complicated beacause your mind makes it that way.

Answer 10

"its noice its common, its noice, its different"
quoth kath..or kim...i recall not which.