Common sense is a rarity in people nowadays. This has created many problems, one of which is that people tend to listen to others’ opinions and accept them as their own thoughts, rather than trusting their own common sense and intuition. For example, they often rely on AI, doctors, celebrities, politicians, or other authority figures more than on themselves, who yes given plenty of incorrect information, allot of times intentionally. They might know something is a lie but ignore their skepticism because “Celebrity A” said it’s true. Sometimes, they even listen to their uninformed neighbors more than to themselves or to people on social media, who, ironically, also don’t listen to their own judgment. It’s a clown world.

  • Kizzie@thelemmy.club
    11·
    13 hours ago

    It’s only one part. Other part is to test them yourself, don’t just take their word as fact, which is most important part. Examples, industries like tobacco funding in order to promote consumption of their product & downplaying harmful role of their product, countries releasing ranking of other countries who lacks “media freedom”. Most of this can be solved by peer review. and experts can be wrong sometimes, reminds me of episode of its always sunny in Philadelphia. And I think this paragraph is just common sense & whole post is was about soft sciences.

    There is story about common sense in Panchatantra

    • (33) Better common sense than erudition;
    • good sense is superior to book-learning;
    • absence of sense invites destruction;
    • as with the scholars who made a dead lion living.’

    'And how was that?’ asked Wheelbearer. And Goldfinder then began the tale of The Scholars who brought a dead lion to life.   In a certain settlement lived four Brāhmanas in close friendship. Three of them had mastered all the branches of knowledge but they lacked one thing—common sense. One, however, the fourth among them, who had decisively set his face against scholarship possessed just this—plain and simple good sense.   Once, the four of them sat discussing among themselves; and one observed, ‘What use is scholarship to a man who does not travel to other lands to earn wealth by gratifying kings? So whatever we do, it is imperative that we travel abroad.’ And they set out.   When they had gone some distance, the eldest said, ‘Look, the fourth among us is an unlettered fellow. What does he have but just common sense. Without scholarship, depending on mere good sense, how can anyone gain the favour of princes. So, we shall not share the wealth we earn, with him. Let him therefore part company with us and go home.’   The second Brāhmana chimed in with, ‘All right, friend Commonsense you have no scholarship; so you had better go home.’   But the third Brāhmana courteously interprosed, ‘No, no, this is no way to talk; we have played together since we were small children.’ Turning to the fourth Brāhmana, he said, ‘Come along, my good friend; you shall share equally with us.’   With this understanding, the four of them continued their journey. In a forest they chanced upon the bones of a dead lion. And one of them remarked, ‘Look, here is an opportunity for us to demonstrate the value of our learning and put it to practical use. Here lies a creature dead. Let us bring it back to life using the knowledge we have gained by diligent study.’   Immediately one of them rose to the occasion. ‘Oh, I know how to assemble the bones and make the skeleton.’   A second added, ‘And I can provide it with skin and flesh and blood as well.’   The third capped this with, ‘But I can give it the breath of life.   So, when one had assembled the bones properly, another furnished flesh and blood and covered it with skin. Just as the third Brāhmana scholar was going to infuse life into the form, the fourth stopped him, saying, ‘Look; this is a lion; if you give it life, it is going to kill us all.’   But the third scholar retorted bristling, ‘Shame upon you! You wretched fool! What! You think I am the one to make my learning useless and unfruitful, do you?’   The fourth man’s reply came pat, ‘Well, all right then; go ahead; but just wait one moment while I climb this tree nearby.’   As Commonsense climbed up the tree, the third scholar breathed life into the form which straight away rose up as a lion and killed all the three scholars. When the lion went elsewhere the fourth Brāhmana, the man of sense, climbed down and went home.   ‘Therefore I told you, “Better common sense than erudition…” and the rest of it,’ concluded Goldfinder

    In Mahabharata, When Grandfather Bhisma was instructing Yudhishthira about Dandaniti.

    ‘Yudhishthira said, “You have instructed me about a terrible thing that is false and lacks devotion. This is the kind of restraint followed by bandits and I avoid it. I am confused and distressed. My bonds of dharma have become weak. I do not have any initiative in following this. How can I even think about it?”

    ‘Bhishma replied, “In instructing you about dharma, I have not depended on the sacred texts alone. This is wisdom and experience and it is the honey that wise people have collected. A wise king will have many means of prevention, from here and there. Progress on the journey does not take place along a single branch of dharma. O Kouravya! When kings ignite their intelligence to follow dharma, they are always victorious. Therefore, understand my words. Kings who desire victory and regard intelligence as the best, are always triumphant. Here and there, using his intelligence, a king thinks of means that are in conformity with dharma. The dharma for kings was not determined as a dharma that only has a single branch. Why has the dharma for weak ones not been described earlier?98 If an ignorant person sees a fork in the road, he will be confused. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! You should have already realized that intelligence can also offer a dilemma.99 The wisdom is by one’s side, but it flows everywhere, like a river. One must know that the dharma followed by people can have a course and also the opposite course. Some know this properly. There are others who possess an understanding that is false. Understanding the truth of all this, one acquires knowledge from the virtuous. Those who steal100 from the sacred texts are against dharma. They understand their purport unevenly and vainly seek to explain them. They desire fame in every way and wish to earn a living off this learning. All of them are the worst among men and are against dharma. They are stupid and their views are not ripe. They do not know the true purport. In every way, their final objective is never to be accomplished in the sacred texts. They steal from the sacred texts and point to what is wrong in the sacred texts. They do not act well when they proclaim their own knowledge. In an attempt to establish their own learning, they criticize the knowledge of others. They use words as their weapons and words as their knives. Their milking of knowledge is fruitless. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Know them to be the traders of knowledge, like rakshasas. They laugh at dharma and believe that all of it is deceitful. ‘We have not heard of any words of dharma in their words, or any intelligence.’ When speaking of Brihaspati’s knowledge, Maghavan himself said this.101 There are no words that are spoken in this world without a reason and some are versed in the sacred texts. But others do not act in accordance with them. There are learned ones who have said that dharma is only what people follow in this world. Even if a person is learned, virtuous and instructed about dharma, he cannot understand it on his own. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He can be intolerant about the sacred texts, or confused in his learning. Even when wise men speak about the sacred texts collectively, insight may be missing. What is praised is intelligent words that are derived from the sacred texts. Even if an ignorant person speaks words that are full of knowledge and reason, that is thought of as virtuous. In ancient times, to dispel the doubts of daityas, Ushanas said, ‘Know that if the sacred texts do not possess meaning, they are abhorrent. Knowledge that cannot be defined is non-existent.’ Why do you wish to be satisfied with something that has a severed root? Do not resort to words that are false and injurious. You have been created for fierce deeds, but you are paying no attention to what you should do. O king! Look towards my own limbs, decorated with the effects of good policy.(Bhisma was wounded by arrows) Others escaped and are delighted because of this. Brahma created the goat, the horse and the kshatriya for similar reasons.104 Therefore, some105 are successful in their journey by glancing towards other beings. The sacred texts say that the sin from killing someone who should not be killed is the same as the sin from not killing someone who should be killed. This is certainly a rule which they106 shun. If the king does not establish them in their own dharma, the subjects face extreme decay. They roam around and devour each other, like wolves. If there is a kingdom where bandits roam around and steal the possessions of others, like egrets snatching fish from the water, that person is the worst among kshatriyas. Choose noble advisers who possess the learning of the Vedas. O king! Rule the earth. Follow dharma and protect the subjects. If a lord of the earth appoints inferior people to tasks and seizes, without knowing the difference between the two,107 he is a eunuch among kshatriyas. According to dharma, fierceness is not praised. But nor is lack of fierceness. One should not transgress either. Having been fierce, become mild. The dharma of kshatriyas is difficult to follow and there is plenty of affection in you. But you were created for fierce deeds. Rule the kingdom accordingly. Always chastise the wicked and protect the virtuous. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The intelligent Shakra said that this was what should be done in a time of distress.”