“Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.” - Albert Einstein.
I've thought about the concept of "common sense" for a long time. It never made sense to me that we should all have the same/common sense about anything. This quotation is the definition of common sense that I try to remind myself of when it seems that no one else around me is using their "common sense". It really depends on how you grow up, what adults tell you, what experiences you've had, education etc etc.
I interpret "collection of prejudices" as being just another way of saying "things people tell you w/o you experiencing them yourself" therefore making a pre-judgment about something. My common sense tells me not to drink the tap water here, b/c that's what people tell me. I haven't actually tried to drink tap water and then gotten sick and therefore proven to myself that the tap water is not safe for me.
"common courtesy" is something else that isn't so common. I'm realizing that more being immersed in a different culture with its own set of customs and "common courtesy". Please and thank you's don't really exist. Nor does sorry. Hell, even pedestrian right of way doesn't exist. People rarely smile at strangers and although I've heard people say that people in India are friendly or neighborly, they are not any more or less friendly or neighborly than any other population of people that I've come across, only speaking of strangers though. Although it makes me angry to see litter or see someone relieve themselves on the side of the road, in the context of the culture, I guess its acceptable, but I would prefer not to do that.
So I try to think about things in a culturally relativistic way. I've noticed people like to take pride in their cultural values, as if other cultures don't share the same values or as if our own is superior in some way. Some values are shared, some aren't, but there's no point in making a judgement about that. In fact, more can be learned through differences (if learning's your thing). But you already know this about me.
I don't think your blog should be called thought-less.
ReplyDeletegood point, i'll change it to thoughtful meanderings!
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