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Journalism of Courage
How many times have we been accused by our bosses, teachers and even parents for not having used our common sense? The Chamber8217;s dictionary describes common sense in three alternative ways: average understanding, good sense and practical wisdom. In fact, what is being described are the different layers of common sense. At a basic level, our common sense will dictate action based on a particular past experience. If two people share an umbrella, both will get wet. This kind of common sense is obvious deduction. At the second level, the obvious facts will be further examined to search for any hidden facts that might change the course of interpretation.
A friend visited a supplier in Tokyo. After the meeting the latter suggested a dinner date. He gave his phone number and requested my friend to call him. My friend had no intention of spending more time with his Japanese host. The next day, he told his host, 8220;I could not get through to you even after several attempts.8221; The Japanese replied, 8220;Here, the phones never fail!8221; My friend had used the typical Indian excuse and ended up being embarrassed.
This is why you cannot teach a person this kind of common sense. Strangely, nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense; no one thinks he needs more of it than what he already has. What then is the essence of common sense? It is perhaps the knack of seeing things as they are and doing things as they ought to be done. Science is nothing but organised common sense.
De Bono was once approached by the Los Angeles mayor to provide a solution to a tricky problem. Over weekends, people would park their cars at shopping malls for the entire day. This inconvenienced many others looking for a parking place. His solution,8221;Let them park for as long as they wish, provided they kept the headlights on!8221;The problem was resolved miraculously.
The Buddha said, 8220;Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, no matter who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own common sense.8221; Truly, common sense is as rare as genius.
