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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.
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