Common Sense and Educated Common Sense Essay

Common sense refers to the information people know to be true, which also means that it does not require mental processing. On the other hand, educated common sense occurs through rational thinking and therefore is based on the best available information received through observation. Thus, the difference is that common sense is based on past experiences and therefore does not involve thinking, while educated common sense processes observation information to define a fact. The scientific process of weeding out false information to work with facts is related to educated common sense because it also involves collecting quality information to form a single ending result. Thus, determining what is fact from fiction can involve such processes as observation, the definition of the problem, becoming familiar with other people’s observations, collection and organization of information, and analysis of data.

One of the recent controversies focused on the participation of non-white actors in Amazon’s new series demonstrates an example of uncritical common sense. The misinformed common sense, in this case, suggests that a diverse cast of actors goes against the author’s canon narrative (Fimi & Maldonado. 2022). The application of educated common sense and scientific methods to this case debunks the controversy because the show presents an adaptation of the initial work and even features new original characters.

Furthermore, the application of educated common sense reduces the risks of confusion between correlation and causation. For example, there is a theory suggesting that an increase in the population of storks causes an increased birth rate. While there can be a correlation between the two phenomena, educated common sense explains that an increase in the stork population cannot cause a higher birth rate. The problem is that spreading such theories among the population can change people’s behavior. Thus, prejudice and racial stereotypes present common examples of confusion between correlation and causation, which affect society in a significant way.

Reference

Fimi, D., & Maldonado, M. R. (2022). Lord of the Rings: debunking the backlash against non-white actors in Amazon’s new adaption. The Conversation. Web.