TEDxMidAtlantic 2011 - Duncan Watts - The Myth of Common Sense

Duncan Watts is a principal research scientist at Yahoo! Research, where he directs the Human Social Dynamics group. Prior to joining Yahoo!, he was a full professor of Sociology at Columbia University. He has also served on the external faculty of the Santa Fe Institute and Nuffield College, Oxford. His research on social networks and collective dynamics has appeared in a wide range of journals.

[@thatoneuser8600]

So basically, someone saying "it's common sense" is just like any other insult - superficial. And if they use it as their main point to defend their viewpoint, then it means they don't actually know why they think they're right.

[@4everanub]

I would say “yes” from a scientific point of view, an opinion on a topic you would go to learn about at an university might not be classified as common sense since it requires a deep predetermined knowledge of a meta issue, i.e. “how the circulatory system works” or “why two plus two isn’t five”: these are rules you cannot ignore when discussing these subjects and hence don’t rely on personal experience; conversely, social issues such as “should I walk my dog on a leash” or “people should walk on the right side of the sidewalk” are based on individual experience, moral and ethic and therefore wiggle their way into concepts of common sense and should most definitely exist, and as a society we should all behave in a way that these concepts allow us to function happily, peacefully and properly.

[@Sammy_82]

@@4everanub I mean can't ethics also use the same thing, like in philosophy where philosophers try to use logic?

[@romariosthillaire5065]

From my experience, people who repetitively use that phrase are insecure about their own intelligence or want to achieve superiority. At the end of the day we all have different judgement on certain things, depends on the outcome to change it or not. And what goes around comes around. Don't comment on anyone's intelligence negatively otherwise ur gonna be put in a situation where u didn't practice what you preach.

[@felixyoghurt3291]

@@romariosthillaire5065 That has been my experience too. I worked for a boss once that was a malignant narcissist and usage of "common sense" was his way of trivialising someone else's insight and putting them down in order to elevate himself at the cost of the other persons loss of esteem.

[@jameskeating4719]

Common sense is multiple perceptions coming to a conclusion that best suits everyone . We have ample information on what does not work .

[@serga7486]

im relatively young but an older person told me that, before the internet, when people had questions often times when they ask other people, the other people just make up whatever as an "answer". im assuming that even with the prevalence of the internet in our lives, people havent changed. maybe overall weve gotten worse. i see this being prevalent with the news and politics, art and media, the list goes on.

[@andreions]

I get what you are saying, and I mostly agree, but the internet has given us between the good and the bad, the ease of access to information that no longer leaves people in the dark in certain circumstances. You can fact check people instead of believing them at face value. Media literacy is the most important skill nowadays and it’s a skill that is really lacking just like "common sense".

[@lavonwheeler6339]

Awesome video. I was never a fan of the phrase, common sense, because of it's variety of definitions.

[@romariosthillaire5065]

I prefer to use the term logic and a new one I learned called "common or general decency"

[@felixyoghurt3291]

Absolutely agree and it is often used in a derogatory sense too.

[@thatoneuser8600]

Common sense doesn't exist, it's common sense!

[@edwardtang1977]

The myth is that it is "common".

[@J_Shingy53]

Thank you Watts

[@DessyGallegos]

I do not have common sense,..because my common life growing up was a destructive and traumatic time. My whole life was drama and pain until I was 18

[@DessyGallegos]

@Daymion anderson thats fine! Your small brain could not comprehend that by me saying this, I was not asking for "pity" but more so ,saying something others could relate to

[@tyriqcollier5509]

@Daymion anderson yeah you're a bit slow

[@jlupus8804]

When there are 2 opposite answers/explanations to the same issue, then they’re not obvious. Common sense is used to navigate everyday situations... it’s a rule-if-thumb, slogan/analogy method of rhetoric.

[@Error-hk8vz]

I think the example given for common sense was bad... I don't think common sense is people reasoning out why something may or may not make sense, which was the given example, essentially. I think the term "common sense" is used in a way that means good sense, like, differentiating right from wrong,what should and shouldn't be, and accepting what is and isn't. Examples: - it is *right* to do good and *wrong* to do bad. -you *shouldn't* unload a gun in the air in a city, you'll be arrested and the bullets may kill someone when they come back down. You *should* be as responsible as possible. - 1 + 1 *is* 2, it *isn't* 3. This is what common sense means to me.

[@cheezenip2737]

Who else is just here for the comments?

[@henryarero]

Sociology is the Study of Society of the World 🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎, An attempt to Solve human problem, Study human character and Behaviour

[@boing3887]

i would disagree slightly. history follows patterns, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it repeats. most social events may follow some pattern but also vary considerably depending on different contextual factors. that's what makes historical comparisons so tricky and hard (and why if you're good at it you'll get a university job with a good salary)

[@thewanless123]

Basically when you come down to it ( I agree with you..) ... for example, its only common sense, that a Mechanical Engineer with a MBA will not be as successful in running a $ 200 mil. business as a high school gradate, who start a newspaper route at the age of 10, etc...

[@BeepBeepRayya]

That's not common sense, that's an educated guess, and an understanding of patterns.

[@henryarero]

People looking at the same picture or object giving different kinds of Answers

[@n-stryker]

Here we are nearly ten years later and the revolution that all this data collection he discusses towards the end of the video has brought is hyper-targeted ads and echo chambers. We need to turn the tide and it's going to mean funding ethical use of this data.

[@miamianz]

Heck we can track hurricanes , just use spaghetti models for every decision.

[@henryarero]

Ears...hear different kinds of things

[@SO99WHAT]

The thing is that such science has nothing to do with public purpose, and everything to do with social control and social engineering. can you explain this pls? just wondering how you came to that conclusion?

[@MrGrapha]

je hebt twee soorten mensen die mensen die naar mensen gedragen en mensen die gewoon denken zoals ze zelf denken te moeten gedragen of het is zo dat daar groot verschil in zit van procent tot procent ik weet niet en wil eigenlijk niet weet

[@Well_possibly]

Interesting talk, but...e-mail? 14:01 Is he referring to data mining our e-mail? To what extent? I would like some privacy.

[@Manikandan-cv3kq]

privacy is completely lost. don't think about it. ha ha

[@henryarero]

Five Common sense of human being

[@DarthZevrel66]

I don't understand a word he just said.

[@RMokros]

Not a great presentation, boring topic. Not well put together.

[@MrGrapha]

ik denk dat mensen die niet inzien waarom iets fout is gegaan dat ze gedoemd zijn het te herhalen

[@ghinannafsiaqila4629]

Blitz crank

[@verhaenk]

nice 1!! :)

[@sintymckeating7015]

Hi

[@Silly.Old.Sisyphus]

there is no myth of commonsense, other than that what you think is commonsense is not what someone else thinks it is. exceptio probat regulam. because we all use logic, even if post-hoc more often than pre-hoc.

[@randall2158]

You clearly don't have any critical reasoning skills. Which, isn't common at all, but you didn't actually understand the talk whatsoever if you reached that conclusion. In short: you're wrong.

[@francismausley7239]

We need more Spiritual sense. "The master-teachers are the expounders of divine common sense which is the pathway to a knowledge of universal law, the result of which will be a harmonious humanity." ~ Abdu’l-Baha, Baha'i Faith

[@wherethevoodstuffgoes]

Common sense is a non-word used by lazy thinkers to feel special about themselves. Usually Conservative...always unimpressive (unless you are yourself also unimpressive). It's a rhetorical trick more than anything else. It's someone who is not a very careful thinker and is not very intelligent trying to convince other people of the same sort that they should listen to them. It contains and requires no appeal to objectivity, no reason, no analysis, and no real thought. It is sentence fodder and means absolutely nothing. Sprinkle it on any sentence in conjuction with any statement or claim that a person already believes and they will consider you a professional on the matter.

[@georgemarsone]

PERHAPS COMMON SENSE IS NOT VERY COMMON LIKE BEING LOGIC.FOR MOST PEOPLE IS DOWN RIGHT DIFFICULT TO ACHIVE....

[@henryarero]

It's Not a Rocket Science....

[@ariyillann]

Hayato.

[@cqstlupin6074]

Ok

[@MrGrapha]

sorrie dat ik het zeg maar sommige dingen zeg ik van nutteloos

[@henryarero]

Nose Smell differently

[@henryarero]

Tongue taste differently

[@thewanless123]

After listening to the entire video, which has no substance whats so ever, I would conclude he is not working for Yahoo.. or whomever... god is he off target....

[@tmxseven]

J Andyc Explain...

[@emil246]

Video was from 2011 he was at the time. Ironically your comment proves his point.

[@HawkinsZhu]

I actually hear a few good points in his speech. And you're right, he does not work for Yahoo anymore. He is with Microsoft now.

[@thewanless123]

Thank you for your feedback. As typical in the past 50 years companies move the problem to other companies instead of correcting them, or just fire incompetent people.

[@HawkinsZhu]

+J Andyc you obviously misunderstood why I reply and you had reached your conclusion already. Whatever I say will not change it, which is fine for me. I'm just curious what is the "target" you think he should be aiming at.