Common sense

[Ridgeplate]

Perhaps common sense has fallen prey to the bad press of public opinion. Somewhere along the line, common became synonymous with plebian. Somehow, common sense is relegated to a status of "beneath the notice of the educated". If it's common, then I'm not special if I possess it, and my purposeful ignorance of it is no detriment to me if I'm "educated".
Maybe we can play the game of semantics and get common sense rebranded as "practical intelligence". There's no negative connotation to intelligence or practicality, after all, (at least none I'm aware of) so perhaps those in the lofty seats of academia may be more likely to appreciate its application.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by Ridgeplate

"practical intelligence"

Nice

[Flint]

Originally Posted by Ridgeplate

"practical intelligence"

I like that. Practical Intelligence avoids the negative associations with the terms like logic , rational, and reason. When you debate on the basis of logic it can be construed as arbitrary, or without passion.

I guess the term common sense is wishful thinking.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Isn't common sense rooted in concentual truths? Knowledge that has become accepted as true, through acumulated experience of the community/tribe/race?

Example ~ For the people that live around lake deeper'nshit, it's common knowlege that you need 8 days below freezing for the ice to be safe for hockey. Therefore common sense would be to stay off the ice if it hasn't been below freezing for at least 8 days.

Example ~ Never pet a burning dog. Accumulated knowlege tells you if you touch fire you will be burned. If you ever had, you'd know first hand(pun), but most people believe their mother plus having some experience with hot things are wary enough not to try fire.

Of course much common knowlege has been debunked by advances in science and medicine, especially in the last century.

So, I think practical intellegence is a wonderful term in that it implies you're applying knowlege and possibly even weighing risks in a practical manner rather than being stumped, grasping for absolutes.

Excellent, Ridgeplate.