Common sense, it has been said, is the most uncommon thing
in the world. It is a rare commodity that is not exactly mother or native wit.
This is only a clever paradox, which is definitely not true. Tom, Dick and
Harry have it. It is the one virtue that is used by us at every step. Even
animals have it, which it seems to instinctively show at unexpected moments.
We often look upon common sense as a blind instinct. It is a
quality that neither wealth nor learning can confer on a man. It is supposed to
come as a gift from above, and that one is born with,—a sharp insight into
matters and promptitude that helps us much in the practical field of work.
Education or book learning, no doubt, makes us sophisticated
but does not engender common sense. Somebody called Mr. Pickwick (of Charles
Dickens) from the road; Pickwick looked upwards at the sky.
Albert Einstein was a very great scientist. But he made two
holes in the cage—one big and the other small—so that his two cats, one big and
other very small (mother and the young one kitten), may come out through the
two respective holes. Did he lack common sense? For this reason, common sense
is often spoken of as a mystery.
Common sense is only the combination of experience with
intelligence. Common sense is something different from a laborious process
of reasoning. It implies swift decision, a capacity to do the right thing
without fumbling. An intelligent man, when guided by a wide experience of life,
develops a spontaneous reflex power to act quickly and sensibly in any
situation.
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