Knowledge is the familiarity and awareness of something. For example, people who study medicine, have knowledge about medicine and diseases. people who study math, have knowledge about math, calculation, algorithms, etc.

Simply put, knowledge comes from studying and searching. You are interested in knowing about physics, AI, religions, you name it, go and spend some time reading about / searching for it.

YET, Common Sense is a whole different matter. you can’t go and study common sense!

what is common sense first??

Let’s give some definitions:

Common Sense is:

* “The basic level of practical knowledge and judgement that we all need to help us live in a reasonable and safe way” (Cambridge).

The key words in this definition are “practical and judgement“.

Common sense is a type of knowledge but a practical one, not theoretical. We can’t find it in books and articles. We can’t go and study it or have courses on it.

Common sense is a judgement, an opinion, an evaluation, a feeling, a sentiment.

Common sense is situational. It is always related and has to do with the situation and context at hand. What you think about something now and here can be radically different then and there (I am referring to the context/situation).

* “Sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts” (Merriam Webster).

 In this definition, I would focus on “sound judgement” and “situation“. Common sense is a judgement as we mentioned, but it must be sound, sane, error-free, fallacy-free, flaw-free. Plus, it is situation-related.

Knowledge is very important and beneficial when dealing with a matter related to the field of that specific knowledge. However, Common sense is crucial when dealing with life in global. We need common sense to estimate the price of something we have no prior idea about its price. We need it to carefully choose the right words when talking about someone who has just lost a (loved) relative. We need it to nicely apologize when doing something a wrong. We need it to give professional/accurate/direct/relevant answers, especially in professional contexts. For example, why do I need to bring about my family issues when the question is about academic achievements?

We need common sense to decide the proper time to fix something in the house (so not to wake/disturb neighbors), or else celebrate an occasion with music being played loudly. We need it to gently turn an invitation/request down (nice way with explanations/excuses given). We need it to dress the right way for a certain occasion; we can’t, for example, go to a funeral with a red short and a yellow tank top.

We need common sense not to drop by / call someone at a late time, especially without further notice.

We all need common sense to live a good, respected, high-quality life. Common sense is the wise person we all need in our life.