Use Your Common Sense Day is observed annually on November 4, since common sense is an important tool for living life. Common sense is “the applied knowledge of simple, sensible things”, such as not putting metal into microwaves or jumping into rivers without knowing what is under the water. This date also marks the birthday of Will Rogers — the man who remarked “Common Sense ain’t that common”! We need to remind ourselves of the importance of applying common sense to our everyday lives and decisions to avoid unnecessary dangers and make the most of opportunities! In the social media age, this is a pet peeve of many — that common sense seems to have fallen by the wayside. There are even calls for subjects stimulating common sense in the school curriculums in the U.S. because so few seem to employ it!
HISTORY OF USE YOUR COMMON SENSE DAY
Common sense as a concept is ancient, first being brought to the limelight by the great philosopher, Aristotle. He described it as the ability with which animals (including humans) process sense perceptions, memories, and imagination to reach many types of judgments. To his thinking, only humans have real reasoned thinking, which takes them beyond common sense. This was then carried forward in the Roman interpretation, which holds that concepts like ideas and perceptions are held by man and make them more sophisticated than animals.
French philosopher, René Descartes, established the most common modern meaning, and its controversies, when he stated that everyone has a similar and sufficient amount of common sense, but it is rarely used well.
Since the Age of Enlightenment, the term “common sense” has been used for a rhetorical effect both approvingly, as a standard for good taste, and source of scientific and logical axioms.
In modern times, common sense is defined as ‘the basic level of practical knowledge and judgment that we all need to help us live reasonably and safely”. Without any doubt, applying common sense could save one a lot of problems.
Common Sense Day was created by Bud Bilanich, a career mentor, motivational speaker, blogger, and author. He’s starred in some leading TV shows and magazines and has written 19 books that highlight how to succeed in life, and how the application of common sense is vital to that success. Common Sense Day was first celebrated in 2015.
Nowadays, technology has changed things, of course.
Memory… Memories…
We celebrated Remembrance Day yesterday. November is really the month of memories when souvenirs come back to us, one by one, or many of them all at once.