Uncommon Sense

Uncommon Sense

Who among us hasn’t uttered or heard the phrase that goes “It’s just Common Sense . . .”, followed by the realization that common sense is not nearly as common as we’d all like to think it is or should be, therefore making it “uncommon sense”? But what is it that makes ‘common sense’ common? I suggest that common sense is only common among those who have similarities in personality, background, education, perceptions, etc. For example, it is considered common sense to get out of the rain (or use an umbrella). But what if you like standing/walking/sitting out in the rain? What if you like seeing lightening strikes and really enjoy the sound of thunder all around you?

I’m sure it was common sense that if a boat sailed to the ‘end of the earth’ it would literally fall off the edge – back when even the best educated men of the day firmly believed the earth was flat.

I think common sense is acquired through experience – usually your own, or by learning from someone else’s. I’m pretty sure we’re not born with it. What would an infant know about common sense? They learn pretty quickly though: if I scream and cry like a banshee, I’ll get someone’s attention! I’ll get fed! Someone will come pick me up! And the attending parent learns that if they DON’T heed the call, that kid will keep screaming WAY longer than the parent has the patience for. So each learns a little common sense. It’s Pavlovian, perhaps. But it is learned behavior that evolves into common sense.

So what is “uncommon sense”? Basically it’s the opposite of “common sense”. It is the way of looking at or handling situations differently from a subject’s way of doing the same thing. Think about when you’re criticizing someone for not using “common sense”. Aren’t you really criticizing them for not doing something the way YOU think it should be done, based on your own background, upbringing, culture, experience, etc? I have a GREAT example of this concept, that relates to a similar topic: Common Courtesy. I worked with a guy who never covered his mouth when he sneezed. Our desks were about 20 feet apart with no partitions between us. I criticized him about his deplorable habit every time he did it. “Don’t you realize you’re spreading your germs 40 feet into this workspace???” After a few months, he blasted back at me “Why don’t you ever say ‘God Bless You’ when I sneeze? It’s just common courtesy, ya know.” Well, without digressing to the subject of God and blessing people while not being ordained to do so, I retorted to him that I considered it common courtesy to cover his mouth and keep his germs to himself. The bottom line is: what is common sense, knowledge, or courtesy to one person may not be for another. Once I had that epiphany, I found that I used the “common sense” phrase less and less. It doesn’t stop me from educating the public whenever possible – like informing the “sneezy guy” how far germs are carried in a sneeze, or the origin of the “God Bless You” response to a sneezer (From back when people believed that sneezing was the body’s way of expelling the devil from it – obviously, long before doctors determined that it was from allergies).

As time goes on and we encounter more and more people whose backgrounds are different from ours – young vs. older, American born vs. foreign born, Northerner vs. Southerner, East Coaster vs. West Coaster, Rich vs. Poor, City vs. Country/Rural/Suburban, etc….. AND as we deal with those who are already in our social/family/species circle (Men vs. Women, Sisters vs. Brothers, Mothers and Daughters, Fathers and Sons, etc) it behooves us all to realize and be aware of what makes us the same and what makes us different, to educate those we encounter and be willing to be educated by them, so that we can all reach a higher level of understanding – a common ground in which to live, thrive, and pursue happiness.