Common Sense is Not So Common

Common sense is not so common. - Voltaire, Dictionnaire Philosophique (1764)

  • It is different from person to person
  • Don't consider your position, or the position that you agree with, or even a position that has consensus, to be "common sense", because it's nothing more than your perception.
  • Your idea of common sense is likely to contradict someone else's idea of common sense.
  • Instead of relying on "common sense" to make decisions, you should instead rely on building consensus for your position and perception, and work with other people to reach a conclusion most people can accept.
  • By assuming your position is "common sense" and acting upon it, all you're doing is insulting the people who disagree with you.

-- from Wikipedia:Common sense is not common

I think this is also one of the reasons that make human communications hard.

  1. Our communications are based on some "common senses" like
    • words
    • grammars
    • back ground knowledge
    • etc.
  2. If two people have different "common senses", the communication between them become hard.