Among Friends

[blackhole99]

I think people learn common sense at a very young age. You can either figure things out at a basic level or you can't. I think people who are not put in the position very often to use common sense, like maybe the rich,

(remember Paris Hilton )and very educated, may never learn it. My husband has an advanced degree and I do not. We compliment each other because he picks up the slack on my end and I pick the slack up on his.

[ROMARY]

Some people are 'born' with common sense (dna, hereditary, etc.) and some children can 'learn' common sense, imo.    I guess I had both. (Not that I'm perfect by any means. I'm always learning.)  My dear Dad had a lot of kind common sense, and I recall him saying that ('this and that') doesn't make any sense at all, and also  'That makes a lot of sense', etc.  So a bit of both would be nice. 

[ROMARY]

Now that I'm thinking about it, not everyone has the 'same' common sense.  What 'makes sense' to me might not make any sense at all to someone else.  And vice-versa. 

[Q4u]

My dear Father used to say that a combination of IQ with practical and common sense was the ideal.... enough intelligence to understand and learn the depth of a subject, but enough practical and common sense to not sit down on the railroad tracks in order to read or contemplate Physics...... 

Always made sense to me!   

[SoutherngirlNC]

In today's world,  common sense is a "superpower".

[Moonchilde]

There is the ever-present claim that well-educated people (often termed ‘brilliant’ with a sneer by those less exposed to reading and education) have no common sense, and that people are strictly one or the other - brilliant with no common sense or having abundant common sense but no higher education.

Not everyone with a degree, even a doctorate in theoretical physics, is brilliant or a genius.  That some hold them up to be is their own issue. 

I see a lot of “educated people” discussed vs those with “common sense.”  IMO, this is just another me/us vs them. If one has little to no education, or has never desired to learn anything from books (probably because they have difficulty reading), if they feel intimidated in any way (which they would vehemently deny), then of course having common sense, a good old-fashioned innate ability, is WAY better than dumb ol’ book-larnin’.  Who needs education when you’ve got street smarts? 

Compensating for a perceived lack and determined to denigrate as unimportant that which they lack and those who have it.

‘I’m smarter than any college-educated jerk.’ The sentiment is a defense mechanism for those who feel inferior.

I did not graduate from college though I attended; I have educated myself on many things via reading, observation and social media. I feel no inferiority to the educated - I am educated, just not with a degree to “prove” it.

Common sense I have aplenty, as well as cynicism and a nose for the phony and the faux-humble. I don’t need to talk about how smart I am, or how educated, or that others have too much or too little education or intelligence, because I’m comfortable with who I am to the point of not needing to impress others or excuse myself either one.

[Desert Lily]

@MoonchildeI agree with you. I have a sibling who is labeled a genius, and a child who is working on a doctorate in particle physics at an ivy league school. People labeled with high IQ's have their own set of challenges, and those challenges differ with each individual (a few may have social challenges, or a strong sense of right and wrong, or an intuitive drive to constantly learn, or feeling alone and different from others, or extra sensitivity, or logic over some humor, or perfectionism, etc.) Many in this group may have none of those challenges. I took several graduate courses on this subject to help understand my loved ones, and I'm an advocate. (Needless to say, I'm not a fan of the Big Bang Theory show and never watch it) To say this group has no common sense, makes no sense to me. I'm grateful for scientists, physicists, doctors, inventors, mathematicians, architects, explorers, artists, etc. Everyone is valuable, and IMO we all play an important part.

[AngelPuppy1]

---

@hckynut wrote:

---

@AngelPuppy1 wrote:

Don't have any quotes, but this is really a subject or a topic which I am constantly frustrated by.  You cannot buy common sense, nor can you learn it no matter how much higher education you have.  You either have it or you don't!  In my experience, some of the smartest and most well educated people seem to have absolutely no common sense whatsoever.  And this, is a very unfortunate combination.  It's as though, if it doesn't come out of a book, forget it!!!  I never claimed to be the most brilliant person around but I can say that I have been blessed with a lot of common sense.  

---

@AngelPuppy1

I have had the same experiences with many highly educated men. It is something I never seem to understand the why! So smart about so many things in life, but seem to have very little when it comes to common sense. Spent a lot of time trying to explain this to a whole lot of these types of men and come away just shaking my head. 😮

hckynut(john)

---

@hckynut

Yeah, I am shocked and amazed at this, too.  I work with all very educated people and I have to say --- I am scratching my head constantly at this.  Growing up, I thought this was a trait or characteristic that everyone was born with.  As I got older, I began to realize that so many very, very intelligent people have none, whatsoever.  It's like -as I have said --- if it doesn't come from a book -- forget it!!!  

[chiclet]

Common sense and unselfishness seems to be in short supply.

[Desert Lily]

Some of the responses seem to demonstrate a lack of education and understanding of gifted people. Why would anyone want to degrade them?