common sense is neither common nor sensical

English

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Etymology

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Attributed to Benjamin Franklin.

Proverb

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common sense is neither common nor sensical

  1. Many assumptions that people make through intuition, popular culture, or 'common sense' turn out to be incorrect.
    • 2012 May 17, Scott H. Young, “The Strangeness of Everyday Things”, in Scott. H. Young Blog[1], archived from the original on 2023-11-30:
      In fact, much of what we call common sense is neither common, nor sensical. We use the hindsight bias to pretend facts which come to us were apparent all along. As a result we rob ourselves of the strangeness that lies ahead.
    • 2016 March 3, Craig E. Wells, “Full Professor Lecture on March 15: Luis Vivanco, Professor of Anthropology”, in College of Arts and Sciences[2], The University of Vermont, archived from the original on 2024-08-22:
      As some anthropologists are fond of saying, common sense is neither common nor sensical.
    • 2020 October 8, Tom Dwyer, “Health Notes- 50 lies you believe about your own body”, in Tom Dwyer Automotive Services[3], archived from the original on 2024-08-22:
      They say that Common Sense is neither common nor sensical, and the things we believe about our bodies prove it.