Common sense is the natural ability to make good judgments and also to behave practically. Also, common sense could be a sound practical judgment concerning everyday matters, the ability to understand and judge matters with good sense. Common sense is still the attitude of seeing and doing things the way they are to be done in the right manner.
Common sense does not deal with how old you are or how vast in your knowledge you can be, it is so tricky that an adult supposedly full of knowledge may not have an adequate amount of Common Sense in which a little child or young person may have in abundance. This common sense is something that many people possess but only a select few possess it to the degree necessary to be truly called intelligent. Common sense shows in the use of sound judgment when used in practical matters.
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Oftentimes, we tend to measure our intelligence by the amount of knowledge that we accumulate during our studies in schools and colleges which might have taken several years to accomplish but there is a great difference between knowledge obtained from studies to common sense. The truth of the matter is that it is only when we put everything together that is; common sense and knowledge from schooling and studies and use it in the proper way that we can truly exhibit intelligence.
Read: 25 Things That Are Not Worth Your Time In Life
How to Develop Common Sense
Common sense usually develops through life experience as there is no formal way or training. Developing common sense can look like a difficult thing to do, but then you can easily practice using these common sense techniques by being more aware and reflecting on situations around you before making decisions. Common sense enables you to make smarter choices. Below are some of the ways you can develop your common sense:
- Compare the risks and good outcomes in a situation before making decisions. It is wise and common sense to always weigh the negative and positive outcomes in any situation you face. Not doing this, makes one end up making rash and unnecessary decisions. For example, if you are drunk and you are faced with driving yourself home, but instead you can call a cab to take you home so as not to get involved in an accident or break the law, I believe a wise person would use common sense to do what is right
- Think clearly about situations and endeavor to look at your situation from another person’s perspective. It is easier to give out advice to someone else than for you to follow that advice yourself. It is wise and common sense to always look deeply at situations and put yourself into the other person’s shoes before concluding. An example is you found a jacket at school that is not yours and then you want to keep it but you remember you have advised your friends to always return things they found to the right owners so in this situation it would be wise to also follow your advice to do the right thing.
- Learn to share your decisions with people you trust before making the final decision. When you encounter difficult situations and you don’t know what to do, it is alright to share them with someone you trust to help you weigh your options. It could be a parent, guardian, close friend, or even a counselor. It is wise to do this since these people may have more life experience than yourself.
- Do things that you know are good for you. It is basic common sense to do things that would favor you and won’t bring harm your way. Common sense helps you to make decisions with positive outcomes. For example, if eating sweets and chocolates makes you fat or has a bad effect on your health, it is wise to stop and live healthily. Another example is buying something you can’t afford and putting yourself in a financial bind, it is wise not to buy it at all.
- Think before you speak. Common sense teaches you to think before you speak so as not to hurt other people’s feelings and regret your actions later. Before you say anything that could be offensive or hurtful, consider how it would feel if someone said the same thing to you. If it is something that doesn’t make you feel good, common sense should be to say something else that is not hurtful or not to make any comment at all. Always rethink what you are about to say in your mind to make sure it comes across in the best way possible to the intended person.
- Be more observant of your surroundings. Pay attention to how people react around you and use your common sense to make decisions based on what is going on. Learn to study people’s faces and body language while you are around them so you can see how they are reacting to you and what you say. For example, if they aren’t making eye contact or they are trying to get away from you, common sense may be to end the conversation because they don’t seem to have interest in the conversation.
Check: 25 Things That Are Not Worth Your Time In Life
19 Common Sense Tests That 90% of People Will Fail
Common sense tests are always fun and may stump even the smartest person. These brain teasers aim to test the level of common sense a person possesses. Below are some common sense test questions:
- How many times you can subtract the number 5 from 25? Answer: Once. After the first calculation, you will be subtracting 5 from 20, then 5 from 15, and so on.
- What is the easiest way to throw a ball, have it stop, and completely reverse direction after traveling a short distance? Answer: Throw the ball straight up
- There are five oranges in a basket. How will you distribute the oranges to five people, such that one orange is still in the basket? Answer: Distribute 1 orange each to the four people. Then give the fifth orange together with the basket to the last person.
- A man buys a new car and goes home to tell his girlfriend. He goes the wrong way up a one-way street, bumps into seven people, goes on the pavement, and takes a shortcut through a public park. He is seen by a policeman but is not arrested. Why? Answer: He is walking
- A guy is condemned to death. He has to choose a room. Room 1: A fiery inferno. Room 2: 50 Assassins with loaded guns. Room 3: A room full of hungry lions that hadn’t eaten in 3 months. Which room is the safest? Answer: Room 3 because the lions would be dead if they didn’t eat in 3 months.
- Imagine you are in a sinking rowboat surrounded by sharks. How would you survive? Answer: just stop the imagination.
- Some months have 30 days, and some have 31. How many have 28? Answer: All the months have the 28th day.
- If you are in a dark room with a candle, a wood stove, and a gas lamp. You only have one match, so what do you light first? Answer: The match.
- Two fathers and two sons went fishing one day. They were there the whole day and only caught 3 fish. One father said that is enough for all of us, we will have one each. How can this be possible? Answer: There was the father, his son, and his son’s son. This equals 2 fathers and 2 sons for a total of 3.
- A man dressed in all black is walking down a country lane. Suddenly, a large black car without any lights on comes around the corner and screeches to a halt. How did the car know he was there? Answer: It was during the day.
- If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall, how long would it take four men to build it? Answer: it was already built.
- If there are 6 apples and you take away 4, how many do you have? Answer: The 4 you took.
- Larry’s father has five sons named Ten, Twenty, Thirty, Forty…Guess what would be the name of the fifth? Answer: Larry is the fifth son.
- What goes up and down, but remains in the same place? Answer: Stairs or age.
- Name the most recent year in which New Year’s came before Christmas. Answer: The New Year always comes before Christmas of the same year.
- If there are 12 fish and half of them drown, how many are there? Answer: 12, fish do not drown.
- How many times does the alphabet ‘a’ appear from 0-100? Answer: None, because it is an alphabet.
- What is the beginning of eternity, the end of time, the beginning of every end, and the end of every place? Answer: Letter “e”.
- If you were to put a coin into an empty bottle and then insert a cork into the neck, how could you remove the coin without taking out the cork or breaking the bottle? Answer: Simply push the cork into the bottle and shake the coin out.
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Often we are admonished how we don’t have common sense by elders or even peers. Although this ability is not measured by age or how vast your academic career is based, it is an ability that is embedded in many but not all know how to make use of it very well. It is only when this common sense is put together with academic knowledge can one be said to be truly intelligent.
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