Common Sense

[LiberalFighter]

From Psychology Today
Common Sense Is Neither Common nor Sense

Common sense, defined as "sound judgment derived from experience rather than study," is one of the most revered qualities in America. It evokes images of early and simpler times in which industrious men and women built our country into what it is today. People with common sense are seen as reasonable, down to earth, reliable, and practical.

In fact, I think that so-called common sense is a fallacy that has been foisted on us by our culture of ideology (any ideology that wants to tell us what we should think and do) that prefers us to be stupid, ill informed, and poor decision makers. Sorry to get a bit political here, but common sense is even used as an ideological cudgel by conservatives in which so-called coastal elites lack common sense and, as a result, are out of touch with "real Americans" who apparently have an abundance of common sense. But, if we use our elected representatives as examples (though I can't vouch for how representative they actually are), I think it's safe to say that unsound judgment, that is, the absence of common sense, doesn't discriminate based on political ideology.

Here in Indiana I get pissed off when politicians and others refer to Hoosier Common Sense as if Hoosiers have better sense then the rest of the country or world.

[ZombieHorde]

1. Exactly. Common sense is dumb. nt

[Arctic Dave]

2. There is no such thing as common sense, only common experience.

I tell that to all my newbies.

[xtraxritical]

3. There's a reason why "common sense" is so cheap.

[LWolf]

4. I like common sense.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/147