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Quote of the Day: Common Sense
“The charge is often made against the intelligentsia and other members of the anointed that their theories and the policies based on them lack common sense. But the very commonness of common sense makes it unlikely to have any appeal to the anointed. How can they be wiser and nobler than everyone else while agreeing with everyone else?” – Thomas Sowell
I believe this bit of Sowell food explains a lot of the silliness in today’s SJW culture. How can you seem superior when you agree with the cannaille, the commoners? You have to come up with ever more esoteric and outre theories — or at least agree with them — in order to stand out from the herd. And by doing so become part of a different herd. (Or perhaps, really a flock, baaing out inanities with the rest of the sheep.)
Published in General
Great quote. I think, on a related point, that both “tribes” in the US suffer from a rollicking case of confirmation bias. Facts aren’t examined objectively; they’re always twisted to satisfy a conclusion. It makes for bad relationships and bad decisions. In her book “Thinking in Bets,” Annie Duke refers to studies showing that confirmation bias is worse in educated people, because they’re great at constructing arguments with themselves.
So true.
And they always insert the expression into their causes in an effort to shame you into agreement. “Common-sense” gun control, as if anyone who opposes it is a nutjob.
Why do they call it “common” sense when it’s so rare?
Perhaps it is only rare among the chattering classes.
And then not really rare so much as unmarketable. To be paid for chattering, they have to have something new and different to say. Novelty sells: the gods of the copybook headings not so much.
Sounds like this quote came from his 1995 book The Vision of the Anointed. With Thomas Sowell, I’m reminded of the old E.F. Hutton commercials:
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The Rube Goldberg machine comes to my mind.
I’m not so sure. I wonder how often the arguments measure up to the standards of a decent Intro to Logic course.
Or maybe Duke is only talking about “argument” in another sense.
I thought you were here for abuse!
Ha! Maybe. Who knows? I’m not even sure what categories here I fit in.
Calling all sheepdogs, past and present: We need you more than ever! Do you copy? …Over.
I’ve learned in my half-century that common sense is getting less and less common, largely due to poor education. This serves the elites, so they have no incentive to fix that.
Sowell is making a more important point here and in other books on similar subjects, such as Conflicts of Visions, than just lack of common sense or the popular characterization as a dispute between two tribes. While he points out that liberal and Conservative minds work differently at the most basic level, organized use of one’s power and position is more than the conflict of visions, and opposition to the abuse of that power is not just a natural difference or confirmation bias. To call the reaction to the centralization of power and abuse of that power that has occurred gradually over the last 90 years and its acceleration under Obama is not just a tribal division. Republican and Democrat politicians fighting over the commons of the budget and power to allocate wealth is one thing. Opposition to them doing so and to the domination of media, schools, foundations, to enhance that power, spread hate, undermine the constitution and ultimately destroy the Republic is not just tribal or confirmation bias or natural conflict of interests or differences of perspective. The popular tribalist interpretation coming more from people on our side who can’t stomach Trump misses the entire 20th century.
We used to have this thing called “common sense mental illness control”, but it was deemed unfair to lock whackos up, or force those with less severe mental illness issues to undergo mandatory treatment.
It seems in every case of mass murder these last few years, we either have a whacko or a Muslim waging Jihad . . .
I take it you didn’t follow the link.
Which one?
Indeed, I posted the link myself.
Oh…well…never mind.