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Common sense is over-rated
Thursday, 24 November 2005
One thing that's held as a deep belief by many people is the wisdom of "common-sense" or "conventional wisdom". They hold it up as the ultimate truth to which we all should aspire.
But common-sense is over-rated. In fact, if "common-sense" is understood to be what people believe without much education or experience, then it can be downright dangerous.
The history of the growth in human understanding is that of overturning conventional wisdom. The Earth is not flat and it is not in the center of the universe. Disease is not bought about by demons and bleeding someone is not a good way to heal them. The way to make your crops grow is not to pray to the fertility gods.
Even the steady flow of time, which appears about as sure as conventional wisdom can be, has been shown to be an illusion by Albert Einstein.
When someone tells you they believe something because it's common sense, it usually means they're too lazy to examine the subject properly. For the more carefully we look at the evidence that reality provides us with, the more it shatters the illusions that we are born with. The more a person understands on a particular subject, the further from "conventional wisdom" their thinking is likely to progress.
We only truly understand reality by examining it and looking at the evidence, not because we hope that something's true, or it at first appears to be a particular way. Just because we've seen something occur one way a couple of times, doesn't mean it always occurs that way.
Reality is infinitely complex. It is also stranger than we could possibly imagine. The more scientists understand of it, the weirder they realize it actually is. The truth of almost any subject is so far from what we the lay-person may conclude, that it bears almost no resemblance.
You will not be able to make sound decisions without a good understanding of reality. And without the ability to make sound decisions, you are leaving a big chunk of your pursuit of happiness up to chance.
So reject lazy "common sense" thinking. Instead, examine the belief system you have inherited from your family, friends and limited experiences.
Rather than concluding you already know the truth, do the opposite. Suspect that you may be wrong on a great many things.
Expose yourself to conflicting theories on subjects that are important to you. Most of all examine the evidence with a cold eye and compare it to your beliefs. Do they match?
Ask yourself: "How do I know that to be true? Is it possible that I may be wrong?"
Approach everything with an open mind, realizing that your understanding is far from perfect and can certainly be improved upon.
This is a lifetime undertaking, and requires discipline. But it will make all the difference to any success you desire.
 | How to find yourself | | Along with the problem of trying to figure out how the world works, we also all have a similar problem of discovering exactly who it is we are. People are always surprising themselves with behavior they didn’t expect and thoughts they feel aren’t entirely in their control. |  | Generally, it's best just to tell people what they want to hear | | Some people live to tell others what they're doing wrong. They see themselves as some sort of ivory-tower dwelling soul, gazing mercifully down on the rest of us and having the generosity to point out our faults when they see it as necessary. I'm sure you meet such people all the time. |  | How to get a job paying more than $100,000 a year | | How do people get themselves into a position of earning good incomes at young ages? Why do some people work hard for minimum wage while others have cushy jobs that are well-paid? Most importantly, how can you become one of the latter? | | Becoming more self-absorbed probably isn't going to solve your problems | | There are many books and articles written about how to improve your life. Many focus on changing what's going on inside your head. They want you to think more positively, change your inner conversation, and carefully examine your past. In general, they have one thing in common, they want you to become more self-absorbed. |  | The easiest way to fool smart people | | There’s a saying among con-men that smart people are easier targets, because they don’t think they can be conned. I’m not sure if that’s true, but there’s one scam that’s almost guaranteed to make smart people switch off their brains and reach for their wallets. | | You can't trust people with money | | What is it with money that makes otherwise good people lose all moral perspective? The dubious real-estate agent may well be a good and trustworthy friend away from the office, but he'll tell his clients anything to get a few extra dollars out of them. |  | Evidence that success comes from self-discipline | | An interesting experiment on the nature of success was started by psychologist Walter Mischel at Stanford University in the 1960s. He decided to test the self-discipline of children at an early age, then trace their relative success as their lives went on. |  | If you have a problem, look in the mirror first for its source | | Consider the following scenario. Mr Smith has been a dedicated employee at a big company for over fifteen years. He has a mortgage, two children at private school, and a nice car, all paid for with debt. | | Understanding the games people play | | A very interesting book, for anyone who's interested in the psychology of human relationships, is Games People Play by Eric Berne. Dr Berne is a psychiatrist who developed the theory of transactional analysis, which looks at the ways people interact with one another. Specifically, he's interested in the psychological games people play. | | Whatever you say or do in this world, someone will strongly disapprove | | Wouldn't it be great if everyone just loved us and thought everything we did and said was right? What an easy life that would be. Unfortunately, this isn't going to happen any time soon. Pretty much anything you do or say is going to make somebody angry, upset, or despairing of your intelligence and sanity. |
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