Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Is Common Sense Universal?

Where I grew up, my girlfriends were all smart girls who are the successful women of today.

We understood each other, very well. You might say we are all female engineers, so we should. Or you could say we all went to the same school, lived in the same city and country and that’s why we understood each other.

No. That’s not it. I believe the reason is that we all believe in common sense.

Before I met Heather and Hannes, I could have imagined that Iranian common sense could be different from Canadian common sense, for example!

But knowing Heather in Toronto for about 3 years now and meeting Hannes in Ireland, pretty much proved to me that common sense could be universal!

For those of you out there that still remember some math from highschool (or perhaps university), I want to explain this with Fields and Operators. Assume that common sense is field of Real numbers with an operator that is called logic. Therefore, logical people should all understand each other. But if someone’s argument introduces an unreal number or performs a function that doesn’t conform to the operator, then that argument will not be within the means of that field. In other words, their argument is outside the commonsense field!

One could again use the “education” defense and say that people with the same educational background could think the same. Well, I can give you lots of negative and positive examples in dismissing that argument.

Is common sense universal? If yes, why is there so much miscommunication in the world? Why do nations fight? Why family members fight? Why marriages break up? And why someone like Dr. Phil gets paid millions of dollars just to apply common sense to people’s lives?

6 Comments:

At 12:50 p.m., Anonymous Anonymous said...

Is common sense universal?

-No. People have differet charactristics, desires, preferences, abilities and shortcommings. They will act in response to a given stimulus deppending on the above conditions. Education (specialy liberal arts and humanities) has little effect on improving or instaling common sense.


If yes, why is there so much miscommunication in the world?

-Answered above.

Why do nations fight?

- Because in this world "the strong do what they may while the weak endure what they must". It has little to do with "comminication".

Fighting is part of the struggle for survival which is in turn part of the grand hierachy (not equality) interinsic in nature. If you have any problem with that, shoot God.


Why family members fight?
-for obvious reasons!

Why marriages break up?

-for same obvious reasons plus so many other reasons plus the simple biological fact that humans are mamals and ALL speicies of mamals are polygamous.


And why someone like Dr. Phil gets paid millions of dollars just to apply common sense to people’s lives?

-because exactly 50% of people have IQ's which are below avarage.

 
At 2:50 p.m., Blogger The City Gal said...

I think you are being too pessimistic.

With the globalisation of our time, I think we should believe in Global Common Sense.

For example, cutting the hand of a thief doesn't make sense. Or killing gays and lesbians doesn't make sense.

Believing that you get 70 virgins in heaven for being a martyr (blowing up the westerners), not only doesn't make sense, but is total bullshit!

Where did human rights come from? Common Sense I suppose (not Bible or Qoran!)

Let's believe in this, otherwise we are all in trouble.

 
At 4:44 p.m., Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think you are being too pessimistic.

-Yes, I am. You can also call me "too realistic".

With the globalisation of our time, I think we should believe in Global Common Sense.

-I am not sure about this. Six people in a typical family, living in the SAME place at the SAME time speaking the SAME language often can not agree on something. How much "optimism" do you need to believe that 6 billion people would sum up to the same "Global Common Sense"?!! :) :)


For example, cutting the hand of a thief doesn't make sense. Or killing gays and lesbians doesn't make sense.

-Absolutely. But apply your "doesn't make sense" measure to many other things you and I and everybody else does on a daily basis and you'll find out that 90% of what we do actually doesn't make any sense.


Believing that you get 70 virgins in heaven for being a martyr (blowing up the westerners), not only doesn't make sense, but is total bullshit!

-So you think that's bad advertisement? And you think its stupied that people belive in such things? How about believing that the new Pantene Pro-V Brunette Expressions "helps keep brown hair vivid longer and delivers 85% more multi-dimensional shine"!! and that "Red Expressions delivers colour that is 75% richer":

http://www.shoppersdrugmart.ca/english/beauty/products/hair_care/

Now you as a smart engineer tell me what on earth "multi-dimensional shine" is and how it was 85% increased??? If you and I and thousand other North Americans fall for such bullshit, how could we blame those how believes in virgins of paradise?


Where did human rights come from? Common Sense I suppose (not Bible or Qoran!)

-From a piece of paper signed by some countries who don't respect it themselves but use it to make publicity againes others.


Let's believe in this, otherwise we are all in trouble.

-Don't worry. We are not in trouble. Our Loard shall come back to earth and shall make peace. Let's go to the chrch this Sunday and pray!

 
At 10:22 p.m., Blogger The City Gal said...

I don't want to go to Church!

That is exactly my point. If we dont believe that human kind cannot solve its own problems applying his common sense, then we certainly should hope for a divine intervention!

In that case....Well, I don't know. I am boggled!

 
At 6:51 a.m., Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Sky,
I do not negate your argument about 'common sense' or even a global one.

But may be you'd want to consider the 'common non-sense' too! That gives a rather more realistic view... doesn't it?

 
At 9:21 a.m., Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think you are being too naive about the cause and effects! And I think it is the lack of global common sense that people turn into religion for something that might comfort them by giving them precise instructions for their daily actions and assuring them they are doing a right thing (By whatever standard)

 

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