Dear Colleagues, After a string of discussions on this topic, I recollect having stored a piece of article which was posted by a senior professional in one of the communities which I would like to share.
I define common sense as the ability to use general knowledge in the available environment for a specific purpose .
Let me further define a few terms . Data is all that is available in the environment . Trees , birds ,files , tables , buildings , people and so on . Information is what we are interested in . Knowledge is the background based on which we can make inferences from the available infomation . Wisdom is the ability to use the knowledge and the available information . In other words , I am using wisdom as synonym for common sense . In short common sense is the ability of synthesis and application .
Can it be measured ?
Yes . It can be measured in small inputs . Just like a geode is tested through the multiple windows carved on its surface and we can make intelligent judgements about the interior , we can measure common sense .
BUT as we have seen that common sense is dependant on environment and available knowledge the number of variables we have to deal with varies . For example , a city executive may find himself at a loss when he finds himself to be thirsty and on side of a well . Same will be the predicament of a farmer who finds himself at a water fountain which gives water at touch of a button . The reason being that adequate knowledge about the environment is not available . For quite some time I did not know that aircrafts had
toilets in them . Then when I came to know , I made it a special point to go there and my , everything was new to me , though I was well conversant with the process (g). The door opened differently . There were three kinds of tissue papers . There were toiletries which I did not know how to or why to use . There were little symbols all over which were vaguely familiar . I spent quite some time getting to know the environment , sometimes it was guess work , sometimes it was logical reasoning , sometimes it was trial and
error and sometimes it was the help from the air crew . At the end of if did I get more common sense ? No I was more familiar with the environment. The part of common sense was in using variety of inputs for gaining familiarity with the environment with a view to operate efficiently and effectively .
This is why measuring common sense in the same way as other abilities may not work .
I will tell you how I do this on one to one basis with my counselling clients .
A engineering student had come to me . I gave him a ballpen and asked him to tell me the exact height of the multistory building we were sitting in . He was to give minimum three ways of measuring the height and all three were to give exact height and not approximation .
A man on horse leaves Pune for Mumbai at 700 hours on Tuesday . Distance is about 192 kms . The horse goes at the rate of 10 kms per hour. Reaches Mumbai sometimes in the night . On Thursday , the same rider starts back for Pune from Mumbai at 800 hours . Takes the same route. The horse this time can do only 9 kms per hour . Reaches Pune sometime at night . Is it possible that on the route at there is some place where the rider was at the same time as when he left for Mumbai ? If No why not , if yes why yes and how to find out . Three ways of finding out .
Give a lucid explanation as to why riding a bicycle up a slope is more difficult than walking by its side and pushing it up the slope. Three reasons required .
The knowledge base for all three questions is 9 th standard . The answers given by the client not only give idea about his common sense , but also about his predominant thinking process ( logical thinking , mathematical thinking , visualisation etc ) and about his learning style ( abstract conceptualisation , reflective observation etc )
Thanks Hema |
