What Is Common Sense?

It is the basic level of practical knowledge and judgement that we all need to help us live in a reasonable and safe way. yet, it is rare...

- Saikat Majumdar

I was on a plane from Delhi to Bengaluru getting ready for take-off. A few people were having trouble adjusting their luggage in the overhead cabin. A gentleman came along, helped a few people with a smiling face and made space for everybody. “It’s a matter of common sense,” he said with a smile. More space showed up in no time, his own baggage was tucked in, and the people waiting in the aisle got going in a matter of minutes.

And all it took was common sense? A little event like this gets you thinking: is common sense commonly available? If it were, why did the people have trouble finding space for their luggage in the first place? Anyone who travels frequently on short-haul flights between Indian cities knows that the common sense required to adjust luggage in a high space-yielding way is anything but common. For me, what that gentleman did in such a short time, and with such good humour, was a rare constellation of skills.

Not common