There has been a lot of talk about common sense these past few weeks.
People trot it out as if it means the same to everyone.
Yet, it doesn’t.
What is common to me is based on my ‘tradition of understanding’ (my upbringing and environment in which I grew up) and my worldview (read: my biases), which may well be very different to yours.
Or our ‘common sense’ may align.
The original meaning of the term appears to come from the 14th Century as a sense that unites us in a common bond.
Very different to today’s meaning, which is the wisdom that we all possess.
That makes an assumption that we all think and behave alike.
We don’t.
And the more complex a situation, the more difficult it is to determine what common sense means.
I was reminded of common sense and how it can lead to making situations worse when I was watching this video about systems thinking within the NHS.
Turns out, sense isn’t so common after all.
Not because people are stupid, although there are examples where that might root cause analysis may decide that’s the case.
No, it’s because most of us only see what is in front of us.
We do not consider the interrelated aspects of our world, our lives, our societies.
We can become self-centred, or we just want the problem to go away.
Or we have to meet a target and therefore what seems to be the easiest decision is taken.
All of these things could be considered common sense.
None of them would fix the challenges we face right now.
We need some uncommon sense.
Or better yet, we need to think systemically.