What Is Common Sense?

Benjamin Franklin has been quoted as saying both that “the problem with common sense is, it isn’t,” and that “Common sense is something that everyone needs, few have, and none think they lack.” The phrase “common sense” itself makes it sound like everyone has it, doesn’t it? Well, most people don’t, and we live in a world that is no longer dictated by it, if we ever did.

Common sense is supposed to be the kind of logic and intelligence that comes from casual observation. Unfortunately, most of us avoid observing things in favor of listening to what others tell us. Because so few actually have it, there are many phrases the average person says that deeply annoy those who do possess actual common sense.

If these 11 common phrases annoy you deeply, you probably have actual common sense

1. ‘I’m a lot smarter than most other people’

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Most of us have already heard about the Dunning-Kruger Effect. This is a known cognitive bias that suggests that people who are average or below average are more likely to overestimate their capabilities. Meanwhile, people who are truly intelligent are more likely to doubt themselves.

Generally speaking, those of us who have common sense or intelligence often recognize Dunning-Kruger’s law in effect as soon as we hear it. It’s not just a warning sign of a person who’s going to be hard to argue with. It’s also a sign that they won’t even understand why they’re wrong, if they’re wrong.

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2. ‘I don’t really want to learn that’

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Did you notice how many people seem to detest learning with their entire mind, body, and soul? It’s not just you. There is a growing anti-intellectual movement in the United States, and it actually does have an effect on common sense.

Curious people are more likely to come up with rational, practical, and intelligent decisions. Contrary to popular belief, common sense and curiosity are not opposing traits. They complement each other and bolster one another.

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3. ‘That’s just common sense’

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I mean, yeah, certain things might just be common sense, but that doesn’t mean that it’s safe to assume that. Not everyone has common sense. This phrase isn’t necessarily negative in and of itself, but it tends to denote that the speaker is pretty dismissive of other solutions.

A good rule of thumb in today’s society is that you shouldn’t assume anyone knows anything. When in doubt, it’s best to ask people if they know what to do and what they shouldn’t do. After all, common sense isn’t common.

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4. ‘Well, this is the way I’ve always done it’

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This is one of those things that can be a 50/50 split when it comes to common sense. On one hand, common sense is quite literally the logic that comes from learning from experience. If the wheel ain’t broke, you usually shouldn’t fix it, right?

However, there’s a caveat here. Sometimes, things need to be changed up simply because there’s either a better way or because something about the process is proving to be bad for the people who are doing it. Digging your heels in the dirt and refusing to evolve is not a flex. It’s annoying.

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5. ‘I don’t care what experts say’

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Common sense does not equal a college degree. A person with common sense will defer decision-making to people who have spent years studying a specific field, who are therefore more likely to come up with intelligent, qualified, and logical solutions for problems at hand.

A person who doesn’t trust educated professionals to do jobs they’re paid to do generally has a low level of common sense. Though there are valid reasons to mistrust doctors, especially in the United States, the truth is that doctors are there to help you. The waning distrust in education and science is beginning to pose a major risk to public health. No wonder some folks find this to be infuriating.

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6. ‘Money can’t buy happiness’

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While it’s true that money cannot “buy” happiness, a person with common sense can see how money can open up doors that would otherwise be closed. Money isn’t happiness. It never was. It just offers options and opportunities, plus the ability to afford basic creature comforts.

Money can, in fact, boost a person’s mood. It only takes a little smattering of common sense to realize that it’s a lot harder to be happy with your life if you’re literally just breaths away from losing a roof over your head and skipping a meal. Dismissing money as unnecessary for joy just sounds condescending to those who can see the writing on the wall.

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7. ‘I don’t want to think about this right now’

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People with common sense have common sense because they think. They tend to be the people who sit down, ponder the universe, and also try to come up with the simplest solutions to their problems. Thinking allows you to use logic.

Your brain is a muscle, so you have to use it or lose it. This is particularly true when it comes to critical thinking. A person who tries to avoid thinking about difficult questions is a person who often infuriates people who have common sense. They tend to let problems build up until it gets to be too much.

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8. ‘That’s just how I am’

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No, that’s not “just how you are.” Every person has a set of habits that are not good for them, but those habits can be broken. Research has found that habits form pathways in the brain, which is why they are so hard to break. Yet every bad habit and behavior can be changed with enough effort.

People who say this lack the common sense to admit that they could change if they wanted to. Rather than shoulder their actual problems, they’re choosing to make it everyone else’s problem instead. If that’s not infuriating, I don’t know what is.

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9. ‘I don’t know how to do this, so you’ll have to do it instead’

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Oof. This is one of those phrases that says almost everything awful about a person. It’s a phrase used when people are trying to pull some weaponized incompetence moves on others. That’s infuriating enough, but when you really think about what this means in terms of common sense, it’s worse.

Think about it. This phrase shows that they are not intellectually curious at all, and that’s the best outcome. At worst, it shows that they really think you’re that dumb to believe that they don’t know how to load a batch of dishes. Ugh! What an insult!