Ever stood in a kitchen watching someone try to put out a grease fire with water? It’s the ultimate "what were they thinking?" moment. We call it a lack of common sense. But honestly, defining common sense is a nightmare because it isn't a single "thing" you can download into your brain like a software update. It’s more like a messy collection of shared intuitions and practical judgments that we expect every "normal" adult to just... possess.
It's weird. We treat it like a universal truth, yet my common sense as a city dweller is totally different from a farmer’s common sense. If I see a cow, I stay behind the fence. A farmer knows which cow is actually dangerous. That's the rub.
The dictionary defines it as sound, practical judgment concerning everyday matters, or a basic ability to perceive, understand, and judge in a manner that is shared by nearly all people. But that definition feels kinda thin. It doesn't capture the frustration you feel when your coworker hits "Reply All" to a company-wide email to say "thanks."
The Philosophy Behind the Definition of Common Sense
Aristotle was one of the first big names to tackle this. He called it sensus communis. To him, it wasn't just about not being an idiot; it was a psychic power. He thought it was the sense that binds our other senses together. When you see an apple and smell an apple, your "common sense" tells you it’s the same object. Fast forward to the 18th century, and Scottish philosopher Thomas Reid took a different tack. He argued that common sense is a set of innate principles that allow us to navigate the world without falling into the trap of over-thinking everything.
Basically, Reid thought if you had to use logic to prove the floor existed before you stepped on it, you’d never get out of bed. Common sense is the shortcut.
But then you have guys like Albert Einstein who famously quipped that common sense is just the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen. He wasn't being mean. He was pointing out that what we think is "obvious" is actually just a bunch of social conditioning and physics-lite rules we picked up as kids. If you spend your life in a world where things fall down when you drop them, gravity is common sense. If you’re an astronaut, that "sense" becomes a liability.
Why Common Sense Isn't Actually Common
We love to complain that common sense is a "dying art." You've seen the memes. But the truth is more complicated. Psychologists like Duncan Watts, who wrote Everything is Obvious: Once You Know the Answer, argue that common sense is actually a huge trap.
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Think about it. We use common sense to explain things after they happen. If a business fails, we say, "Well, it was common sense they’d fail, they spent too much on marketing." If they succeed, we say, "It was common sense; you have to spend money to make money." See the problem? It’s a shapeshifter. It adapts to make us feel like we knew it all along.
It’s also deeply cultural. In some cultures, it’s common sense to look someone in the eye to show honesty. In others, it’s common sense to look down to show respect. If you put those two people in a room, they both think the other person lacks common sense. It’s a localized operating system, not a global one.
The Science of Practical Intelligence
Robert Sternberg, a psychologist famous for his triarchic theory of intelligence, splits smarts into three buckets: analytical, creative, and practical. Practical intelligence is the closest scientific proxy we have for the definition of common sense. It’s "street smarts." It’s the ability to adapt to, shape, or select environments to suit your goals.
- It’s knowing how to talk your way out of a ticket.
- It’s realizing the "check engine" light means you should stop, even if the car feels fine.
- It’s understanding that "we should do lunch sometime" usually means "goodbye forever."
Research shows that there isn't actually a strong correlation between IQ and common sense. You can be a literal rocket scientist—someone who understands complex fluid dynamics—and still try to dry your wet cat in a microwave. (Please don't do that). High IQ is about processing power; common sense is about having a functional database of "how the world works" and actually using it.
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The Cognitive Biases That Kill Good Judgment
Why do smart people do "senseless" things? Usually, it's because our brains are lazy. We use heuristics—mental shortcuts—to make decisions.
One of the biggest culprits is the Dunning-Kruger Effect. This is when people with low ability at a task overestimate their competence. They don't have enough "common sense" in that specific field to even realize they are doing it wrong. Then there's Confirmation Bias, where we only look for information that proves what we already believe. If you think common sense says "don't trust people with red hair," you'll only notice the one redhead who cuts you off in traffic and ignore the fifty others who let you merge.
Is Technology Ruining Our Intuition?
There’s a valid argument that we are outsourcing our common sense to silicon chips.
Back in the day, common sense meant knowing how to read a map or how to tell if meat had gone bad by the smell. Now, we follow GPS into a lake because the screen said "turn right." We check the "best by" date on a cracker and throw it out even if it’s perfectly crisp. We are losing the tactile, sensory feedback loops that built common sense in previous generations.
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But it’s not all bad. We’re just developing new common sense. Digital common sense is knowing not to click a link in a text from "The IRS" asking for gift cards. My grandmother wouldn't have that "sense," but she could tell you exactly how much salt to add to a soup just by looking at it.
How to Actually Get Better at This
Can you teach common sense? Sorta. You can't memorize a list of "common sense facts" because the world is too weird for lists. But you can build better judgment.
- Stop and Breathe. Most "senseless" mistakes happen because we are in a rush. When you’re hurried, your brain switches from the logical prefrontal cortex to the reactive amygdala. Slowing down for five seconds can save you from a "what was I thinking?" moment.
- Question Your "Obvious." Whenever you think something is "just common sense," ask yourself: "To whom?" This helps you spot your own biases and realize that your perspective is just one of many.
- Learn from Fails. Don't just get embarrassed when you do something dumb. Analyze it. Did you ignore a physical cue? Did you assume someone else was taking care of a task?
- Diversify Your Environment. If you only hang out with people who think exactly like you, your common sense will become very narrow. Talk to people in different trades, different age groups, and different cultures.
The Actionable Reality of Common Sense
The most practical definition of common sense is simply the ability to see things as they are, without the clutter of ego or over-complication. It’s the art of the obvious.
If you want to sharpen your practical judgment starting today, focus on "The Three Checks":
- The Physical Check: Is there a physical law I'm ignoring? (e.g., gravity, heat, electricity).
- The Social Check: How will this action be perceived by others who don't have my specific context?
- The Complexity Check: Am I making a simple problem harder than it needs to be?
Ultimately, common sense is a practice, not a trait. It’s something you do, not something you are. By acknowledging that your "sense" is often just a collection of habits, you can start to refine those habits into something that actually serves you in the real world. Pay attention to the details, listen to your gut, but always be ready to admit your gut might be wrong.
That’s the most common-sense advice there is.