WHY COMMON SENSE ISN'T SO COMMON

 We expect the world to acquire common sense, though we often find ourselves using the line “Common Sense Isn’t so Common”, yet have we ever stopped to analyze why or perhaps what it is that makes some people so much more aware of whats going on around them?  Do we ever wonder why some people are street smart and others with PhD’s are not capable of showcasing common sense in some situations?

Common sense is not so common and it is partly because our past upbringings and situations we have dealt with are also not so common.  As a society, we certainly have some education standards, for example going to school until the age of 18 making it mandatory and in most cases for free.  We also have standards around the type of minimal education each person must go through, such as mathematical, english or history topics.  However, we are not offered education on common sense, maybe perhaps it is because common sense cannot be taught but rather experienced.

When you compare two individuals, one with a high level of education and the other a college dropout, most would assume that the college dropout is more likely to have failed 5 years down the road, although it all really depends on circumstances.  Someone who has been sheltered their entire life, never exposed to real life situations, or even never having experienced earned values is often unable to deal with them in the long run.  While the uneducated high school dropout may not have achieved in school, he will certainly have a much greater sense of survival and self-sufficiency making him more aware of his environment as he depends on it for survival.  This awareness to situations, surroundings and people’s reactions is a direct result of past experiences which in this case are much more amplified than those that have had no choice but to understand their background in order to find themselves and create their place in society.