Intelligence will take you to the farthest reaches of the universe to where no man has gone before.

Common Sense will take you to the American Dream where you will live in peace and harmony with your neighbor.

Which do you chose?



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I am going to have to pass on common sense, since I am not American, does that mean I don't have any?

SweeTea said:

your description of the American dream is quite interesting, considering Americans are THE most insular race of people on the planet (even your post excludes every other nation in the world from answering!).I don't see much Peace and harmony emanating from there either for that matter!

I choose common sense just not in the context of some fictional dream.

Lleena said:

No Lleena, maybe I should rephrase -- life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We Americans think we invented this concept. I guess I wasn't using much intelligence or common sense



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I've had many a conversation on this topic. I'll say you need at least 50% of both.

Thecherryloon said:

American is a nationality not a race. And you're wrong about us being the most insular. People all over the world isolate other humans based on religion, race, sex, or whatever. Americans is very hypocratic and I don't see a lot of common sense being used here.

CherryMoon said:

I would have to agree with you, but it seems those who have intelligence lack common sense. They try to explain the woes of society on a lack of intelligence/education. But I'll answer my own question and chose common sense, as being a Black American, I've personally experienced the hardships of trying to obtain a quality education, and in this country one does not always have the option of obtaining both intelligence and common sense.



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SweeTea said:

I don't see any good grammar being used on your part either.

Most insular, arrogant, polluting, murderous, violent, greedy and bullying nation in the world then.I'll leave you with those facts.

No common sense or intelligence on the org? figures


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Both!

Ya know it amazes me that there can be such highly intelligent people but they lack in the common sense department. I work in the medical school within Brown University and the students have NO common sense whatsoever. It scares me to know that they are going to be doctors...

Thecherryloon said:

Your choice is common sense, but do you ever use it? And how do you know you have it?



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Im an awful judge of myself. But I'd say Im about 75% / 25% of common sense.

Intelligence hasnt learned about me yet.

[This message was edited Wed Nov 20 7:04:05 PST 2002 by SexLovely]

SweeTea said:

What's that supposed to mean? Piss off with your 'Oh so clever' one word answers.

If you want to engage in an intelligent debate Sweetea, please do.Otherwise leave you flippancy out of the equation.

I pick common sense,it is usually people that can adapt and have good social skills.It is best to have both but if i can only have one i take common sense.They tend to see things from the "other" persons view.

Thecherryloon said:

First of all, don't tell me what to do. Second, chill out! What exactly is your fuckin problem? I have no interest in starting a debate with you or anyone else, intelligent or otherwise. Where are you coming from with the term flippancy. This thread is about intelligence vs common sense. If you'd use a bit of the common sense you claim you have you will see that I'm attempting to get a response, as I'm interested more in a person preference than in a debate. Some people, I swear, just want to remain fuckin stuck on stupid!

SweeTea said:

is that anything like hooked on phonics?

All the intelligence in the world won't get you through life unless
you have some common sense. Common sense means sharing
at least as much understanding of things as those around you.
Not possessing this makes you do awkward things and causes you
to make all kinds of wrong decisions that may be intellectually
accurate but just plain stupid in reality.

EllisDee said:

It's quite the opposite :LOL:

I remember reading this quote years ago which has always stuck with me.

"Common sense is genius wrapped up in it's working clothes"

or something like that.

SweeTea said:

common sence can take one just as far as intelligence, they aren't oposites, it's just that some intlligent
proplr fail to use their common sence, thinkin that all
the answers can be found in books.
it's common sence that make science useful, therefore
it opens up a universe that scientist only theorize about.

Whew, thanks guys for your responses. For a minute there I thought I was on Mars somewhere. I was about to really get frightened.



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00769BAD said:

Good answer! And I agree 100%.

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Intelligence! My wife handles the common sense.

teller said:

Great combination teller! It's true what they say -- behind every good man, there's a great woman!


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you can buy all the intelligence in the world through private education, but when you hit the real world, you better have some common sense or get buried.

Intelligent people can hit some dangerous situations out there.My sister is alot more intelligent than me, but often needs a little advice from her older, dumber brother.

(that better SweeTea? i apologise for going off on one.ok)

Thecherryloon said:

No problem Cherry, apology accepted.


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SweeTea said:

you are proof of all i say...

In my experience intelligence & common sense go more or less hand in hand. Unintelligent people often have no common sense, and people with good common sense tend to be quite intelligent.

I think a lot of people confuse Intelligence with Knowledge,
and there I agree that there's no relation between the two.

Here are some distinctions that I like to make. Intelligence and common sense go hand-in-hand and are not culturally-biased. Pitting intelligence versus common sense is not actually a useful thing to do.

Intelligence is the ability to acquire and store knowledge. People with higher intelligence can learn more information and apply it more easily than less intelligent people.

Education is the acquisition of knowledge by whatever means. One can be educated in different ways and by different means. A scholar is educated in school, whereas a criminal is educated in the streets or in jail. Children are educated by studying their surroundings and learning in school.

Common Sense is knowledge that involves using good judgment without specialized education or training. Common sense is applicable across all races, creeds and nations and is not specific to one group.

Cultural Sense involves knowing and understanding interactions in a certain environment and is not "common sense" in any sense of the word. This kind of knowledge is based upon experiences within a certain culture or subset of society.

Street Sense involves knowing the rules and customs of certain segments of society that are sometimes localized and vary from place to place.

IceNine said:

Any thoughts?