Is common sense at all common?

A few things have happened to me recently that have made me wonder whether common sense is at all common these days.

After all, shouldn’t it instinctively be part of who we are? If our primitive ancestors hadn’t realised that walking away from the fire at night towards the growling noises would get them eaten then none of us would be here today.

So what’s changed?

Maybe we could blame the rise of the “nanny state” as new regulations designed to look after us mean we no longer have to think for ourselves. Maybe it’s down to an increasing reliance on technology or a growing culture of zero personal accountability in which everything is someone else’s problem.

Or it could be because we’ve become so reassured by data. I’m all in favour of statistical evidence in principle – it can be powerful if managed correctly – but, even so, the analysis must incorporate experience and knowledge. For example, in 2001, 1.5% of respondents to the New Zealand national census recorded their religion as “Jedi”, meaning the data said 53,000 Kiwis knew how to harness The Force. The statistics said one thing, common sense said another.

Whatever the reason, if our society really is running out of common sense, what happens next?

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