Wednesday, August 25, 2010

The Science of Common Sense; Proven wisdom is common sense?

Defining and developing a whole new science of common sense. Making proven wisdom real in the lives of individuals. groups and countries.
Even though one of the most common beginnings of statements is, 'It is common sense...' I have yet to come across a comprehensive science of common sense. Common sense is real. One of its greatest proponents was Thomas Paine who wrote a booklet which he appropriately called 'Common Sense'. The whole foundation of the American soul was created based on Thomas Paine's suggested principles. It is about time that we create a full science of common sense. A science perhaps not as pure as physics but at least as pure as psychology. This will be the first of a series of open collaboration knols on the science of common sense. My own view is that common sense is time proven/tested wisdom. What a coincidence; today is the 272nd birthday of Thomas Paine!

"I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense . . ."- Thomas Paine
It is amazing that common sense is very clear while wisdom is fuzzy. Perhaps when some particular common action is proven wise then it graduates to becoming common sense. All proven human behavior that results in a wise result is common sense. Proven/established wisdom is common sense? Human actions that have again and again proven to be beneficial to mankind are actions that are full of common sense. Wisdom behavior that has proven to be beneficially successful graduates to become common sense.

There is enough known about common sense that we can put together a whole new subject that teaches common sense. Not only can we use common sense consciously in our daily lives we can take our daily lives and even our group lives to the super common sense level. We can even apply common sense to the current economic crisis and use common sense to solve wars and differences between groups.How do we use common sense to solve major complex problems? By reducing the understanding of complex issues into simple understandable terms. Lets take the current economic crisis. How do we explain it: by using the science of common sense. Instead of explaining the problems of the economic mess in scientific/economic terms lets explain it in everyday life terms. The current economic mess is like a large road. It is crumbling and has a lot of holes. A couple of very large ones and many medium and many, many small ones. Say you do not have enough material to fill up the biggest hole so will you take all your material and keep pouring it down the big hole? What if the hole still cannot be filled even after you have put in all the even borrowed material that you could get? Common sense would dictate that you fix what is fixable and let the big hole be fixed through creative means like building a bridge over the hole. Translating this in economic terms it means that the financial institutions have liabilities of 50+ trillions. What will the 800 million do in this mess? It will still need the banks to find another 49++ trillions. The Govt.'s bailout has so far reduced the giant problem from 50 to 49! It will only buy some time. However financial institutions are a necessity of life and so the sound ones will survive and prosper. And if some big ones go bankrupt the medium sound ones will become big and will fill the vacuum/need.

I thought of another common sense solution to the economic mess. President Obama can issue a executive order that all mortgages will have to be on a fixed minimum rate for the time being no matter what the mortgage agreement says. And those that are cheating though complex mortgages, especially preying on the elderly, will have to return the illegal gains retrospectively.


This blog needs your input. We need as many people as possible on this project of developing the science of common sense, on developing a whole new subject on the science of common sense. Complete with a scientific curriculum that contains lessons and exercises.

We will together make the super emotionally healthy standards the new normal; which we will teach through the science of common sense.

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