Madness and Common Sense: two sides of the same coin?

10 min readNov 26, 2023

During a survey conducted in Oct. 19, 2020 by Michelin North America (a company that claims to be the leading mobility company working with tires, around tires and beyond tires to enable Motion for Life) it was found that the majority of Americans don’t trust other drivers and say they witness unsafe driving behavior regularly. At the same time, an overwhelming majority — 81 percent — remain supremely confident in their own abilities behind the wheel.

Perhaps it was in the context of above survey (showing interestingly paradoxical opinions) that the late comedian George Carlin (an American stand-up comedian, actor, author, and social critic who is also regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time and was especially known for his black huomur) could not help gibing:

“anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac”

There is thus no wonder that most people also keep lamenting or rather bewailing that “common sense is not so common” without anyone even getting an iota of grasp on the idea of what really is (like good driving) this bloody or damn thing called common sense.

In my view there is not, nor can be, any precise or concise definition of “common sense” that everybody could agree upon or that is universally accepted without any reservation and hesitation.

In spite of that we can make an effort to have some basic idea about the term to have as much clarity as possible.

As per my findings and research, it can be loosely defined as a rudimentary or general ability to perceive, understand, and judge everyday situations or look at the ordinary problems in a manner that is shared by nearly all people and their solution doesn’t need a special knowledge and skill. Most dictionaries define it as judgements based on a simple perception of the situation or facts that are also accepted by most people irrespective of their background.

Here are some examples:

a) Checking Both Ways Before Crossing a Road (even if it is a one way street, especially when you are living in India or Pakistan)

b) Taking an Umbrella before going outside when you look out the window and see dark sky, flashes of lightning and hear peals of thunders.

c) Never arguing with a fool because fool believes in winning an argument at all costs and is never interested in having a meaningful debate to reach a reasonable conclusion. Moreover, listeners or onlookers will assume you’re a pair if you debate with a moron.

However, the problem is that society mostly approves or appreciates the lack of common sense. That is why common sense, like clean air, has become a s scarce commodity in spite of being simple and visible truth. People often do things that even go against their own interests and still are told they’re okay or even admirable. Take for instance, problem of drinking or smoking. We all know that alcohol or cigarettes are dangerous for our health but still, millions of us consume these things without any compunction.

Moreover, as Thomas C. Pierson (a U.S. Navy Medic) reveals, sometimes so-called commons sense, ironically, can even fail us:

“With tsunamis, it may seem only common sense to Earth scientists to run away from (and not toward) the water when the sea is drawn rapidly down and away from the beach as a tsunami approaches. But that response is counterintuitive for most people.”

It is because as some oceanographers point out, common perception (or misconception) is that it is surface water or typical wind driven ocean wave but, in fact, it is an energy pulse generated by under sea earthquake and large aftershocks. The energy is so concentrated that a wave rises up and moves all the entire water column, flooding low-lying coastal areas. Moreover, an incoming tsunami carries huge debris, i.e. rocks, vehicles, trees etc. It can also push a bulldozer! Thus there is a very real danger of getting pinched, crushed, ground up into large chunks.

This truth is further verified by a report of National Geographic according to whcih during a Tsunami (in Sri Lanka and India coastlines) wild and domestic animals seemed to know what was about to happen and fled to safety. The giant waves rolled through the Indian Ocean, killing more than 150,000 people in a dozen countries. But, relatively few animals have been reported dead, however, reviving speculation that animals somehow sense impending disaster.

Thus it becomes obvious that even animals have common sense. But man, the social animal, on the other hand, often acts knowingly or unknowingly against common sense (examples of drinking and smoking) and sometimes this common sense is even of no use (as in case of tsunami).

Now the crucial question: Why are we often unable to use or act according to common sense or why is it so scarce as believed by people like Voltaire, Will Rogers or Stephan Covey?

In my view it is due to number of reasons and some of them are as below:

Common Sense is often confused with the norms of the society. For instance when bribery or corruption becomes a norm, instead of exception, it is deemed common sense to indulge in corrupt practices. And anyone who acts honestly in these circumstances is considered abnormal. In other words if majority of the people are wrong then being right is not normal. Thus although “Common Sense” is simpler and easier to understand in theory but very difficult or hard to apply in practical situations. It is not as simple as ABC.

A recent glaring example is that of a horrible conflict between Israel and Palestine (Hamas-Israel Conflict 2023) that makes an open mockery of what is called a common sense. According to some reports, till 25 the of November, over 17,000 Palestinians (mostly non-combatants) in Gaza have been killed and more than 27,000 others injured including even infants, children, women and elderly. And as reports by the Gaza Ministry of Health indicate, Israel has hit high-rise buildings, including those housing apartments, the Rimal neighbourhood in Gaza City, the Jabalia and Shati refugee camps, and in close proximity to the Rafah crossing with neighbouring Egypt, amongst others, wreaking devastation; according to OCHA, “[e]ntire neighbourhoods have been destroyed”. Many feared to be trapped underneath the rubble; “entire families” have been wiped out — it is estimated that as of 10 November, around 1,200 families have lost multiple family members. Even hospitals, schools, mosques, churches, ambulances, and refugee camps have not been spared and they are being destroyed under the Israel’s indiscriminate massive bombing. In addition, millions have become homeless and are forced to migrate or live under the open sky without basic amenities, such as clean drinking water and medical care. And not in too distant past, two atom bombs were dropped on Japanese cities, namely Hiroshima and Nagasaki with full impunity that also instantly and indiscriminately and killed countless innocent civilians including infants, elders, patients, of course. These are just two of many examples of senseless and ruthless wars being fought since man fell to earth. According to some estimates during 3200 B.C. — 2000 A.D. there were approximately 8700 wars. They spiked in the 1800s and 1900s, possibly due to ease of communication. And according to New York Times report, “estimates for the total number killed in wars throughout all of human history range from 150 million to 1 billion. While of the past 3400 years there was peace for only 268 days… In the first years of the twenty-first century, only America’s military spending was roughly $350 billion per year. In comparison, annual spending for other programs included roughly $15 billion on state and international assistance and $60 billion on education. In addition, more than 2 million children were killed in wars during the 1990s alone.”

It is also heart-wrenching to know that more than 45 armed conflicts are still going on throughout the Middle East and North Africa in the following territories: Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Yemen and Western Sahara. Incidents of terrorism are in addition to these conflicts.

2. Reality is perceived by everyone differently and thus everyone has a different perception of reality as nobody can be so perfect or have a completely sound mind that can enable them to see everything in just black and white. It seems true that Nothing can be seen in pure black and white as there are always innumerable shades or grey areas in between. There are thousands of angles and perspectives to see any situation or problem from. In short reality is not just one-dimensional but multi-dimensional. And as Claude Shannon (American mathematician and computer scientist of 20th century who conceived and laid the foundations for information theory) puts it, “”It is hardly to be expected that a single concept of information would satisfactorily account for the numerous possible applications of this general field.”

In other words, in this “information age,” the variety of meanings of single information is so vast that it is difficult to reach a consensus or agree on a single conclusion. And as some scholars point out what is understood by information in the streets, in the industry, in courts, in physics, biology, psychology, sociology, technology or philosophy is so diverse that we could hardly find a common understanding among all these points of view.

And similarly nobody has a fixed state of mind. There is a hierarchy moving from feelings through emotions, moods, and affective state to temperament revealing an increasing complexity in terms of state of mind.

That is why the DSM-5 (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual or the handbook used by health care professionals in the United States and much of the world as the authoritative guide to the assessment and diagnosis of mental disorders) published by the American Psychiatric Association or APA) has become a tome on mental illness and contains 20 disorder chapters and nearly 300 mental illnesses. The revised version includes a new diagnosis (prolonged grief disorder), clarifying modifications to the criteria sets for more than 70 disorders. Many critics of the DSM see it as an oversimplification of the vast continuum of human behavior. They suggests that the manual may also overly medicalize conditions, implying that even relatively normal or non-serious behavior and mood patterns require treatment, often in the form of medication. It is also believed that DSM has so expanded the range of behaviours defined as mental disorder that nearly every soul on earth can be labelled as “pathological,” “sick,” and “neurotic” etc.

Regardless, we can say that everybody is mad in many different ways: My normal is your abnormal and your normal is my abnormal. Or we can say that we all are different and if their is no diversity there would be no rainbow. A “Black and White” life not only be boring but utterly meaningless as there would be nothing to wonder or learn. Thus wondering is always better than feeling frustrated, exasperated, or disappointed.

This is also the hidden message in the “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”

Alice, who just arrived in this world that for her was a Wonderland or rabbit hole, was pretty much baffled by, well, everything. As she was still wondering, suddenly the Cheshire Cat appears and drops some knowledge on her.

At one point while asking for directions, Alice asks Cheshire Cat (cat of the Duchess and also the only character in Wonderland who actually listens to Alice) Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’
`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat.
`I don’t much care where–‘ said Alice.
`Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.
`–so long as I get SOMEWHERE,’ Alice added as an explanation.
`Oh, you’re sure to do that,’ said the Cat, `if you only walk long enough.’”

She then asks another and equally important question: `What sort of people live about here?’

`In THAT direction,’ the Cat said, waving its right paw round, `lives a Hatter: and in THAT direction,’ waving the other paw, `lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they’re both mad.’

`But I don’t want to go among mad people,’ Alice remarked.

`Oh, you can’t help that,’ said the Cat: `we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.’

`How do you know I’m mad?’ said Alice.

`You must be,’ said the Cat, `or you wouldn’t have come here.’

And in the Wonderland (that this world is), according to Carrol, “it’s okay to be mad. If you’re not crazy or weird then you’re not normal. You’re quite the opposite. But what does it mean, what is Carroll saying between the lines? It seems that he is telling us that we’re all odd in our own peculiar way and that’s just average or normal.”

And finally, the world is a mad place in which expectations are often frustrated. Rather than calling others mad (of course except ourselves) and striving to find the absolute truth, we’d do better to simply delight in the ride.

So when the craziness is the norm, it is also deemed common sense.

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