Question of the day...

Which is more important: intelligence or common sense?

There are no right or wrong answers. This is merely food for thought.

Discuss!

K~

hmmm this is a hard one....i'm gonna go with intelligence. I have no common sence :D

Common sense! I've dealt with plenty of intelligent people that make me want to :slamhead: because they had no sense... common or otherwise.

However people with common sense usually have at least a modicum of intelligence to deal with.

I have to go w/ common sense.
I see my sister who has intelligence abound but no common sense and it sometimes is frighting.

I think on a day to day it is easy to get by w/ little intelligence but lots of common sense then vice versa.

Yup....I'd have to go with "Common Sense" as well. Although it's not nearly so common as the name would imply.

hm, what is the definition of intelligence? i usually refer to intelligence as the smart but not in the academic way. but here it sounds like intelligence is the brainy smart, so i'll go with the common sense

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Originally Posted by JLC

Yup....I'd have to go with "Common Sense" as well. Although it's not nearly so common as the name would imply.

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LOL Judy...that reminds me of one of my all-time favorite quotes:

"There's just as much horse sense as ever...problem is, the horses have most of it!"

;)

K~

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Originally Posted by JLC

Yup....I'd have to go with "Common Sense" as well. Although it's not nearly so common as the name would imply.

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Bravo Judy !

Just come onto one of my job sites and it all becomes so clear.

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Originally Posted by KLG

LOL Judy...that reminds me of one of my all-time favorite quotes:

"There's just as much horse sense as ever...problem is, the horses have most of it!"

;)

K~

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Hahaha! That's great!!!

I vote common sense. Without it, you don't survive long enough to be considered intelligent.
Plus people with common sense can normally figure out a way to get things done. Not all intelligent people can.
Wolfy

Intelligence is the capacity to gather and apply knowledge. In other words, I could pick up a book on automotive repair and teach myself how to overhaul an engine. If I do a decent job without any nuts and bolts left over, I would consider myself to be intelligent.

Common sense on the other hand is sound judgement not based on specialized knowledge. It is related more towards human experiences/events than it is on any specialized field. Hence, there is no way to apply common sense intuition towards the universe when you look at it from a subatomic level.

There is no way to totally separate one from the other imo. Todays specialized knowledge will be tomorrows common sense. That being said, there is also a noticeable lack of common sense in some really intelligent people that I know. Why that is so is probably a whole new topic by itself. ;)

Intelligence is great , but common sense is a must to get anywhere you need to be!!! :)

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Originally Posted by JLC

Yup....I'd have to go with "Common Sense" as well. Although it's not nearly so common as the name would imply.

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hahahaha i soooo agree with you! :rockon:

I'll have to go with common sense too. Common sense can help you to become intelligent, but intelligence can't always give you common sense. :)

You can be educated above or beyond your intelligence You can be too smart for your own good, but I have never heard of anyone suffering from too much common sense.

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Originally Posted by McAdry

You can be educated above or beyond your intelligence You can be too smart for your own good, but I have never heard of anyone suffering from too much common sense.

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I love it! LOL

I'd have to vote common sense as well. I think most people that have a lot of common sense are actually quite intelligent even if they are not highly educated. I think having a lot of common sense is based in some part on being intelligent and very aware. Some folks can go through life not really picking up on what is going on and learning from it, whether it's their experience or others around them. Others take that combined life experience, apply it in a myriad of ways appropriate to any situation and we call that "common sense".

As well, I think as wonderful as intelligence is, if one has no real common sense, when a situation arises that is outside of your sphere of knowledge you aren't as equipped to immediately deal with it as someone who has a lot of horse sense.

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Originally Posted by xdeus

Common sense! I've dealt with plenty of intelligent people that make me want to :slamhead: because they had no sense... common or otherwise.

However people with common sense usually have at least a modicum of intelligence to deal with.

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:sweeet::sweeet::sweeet::sweeet:

My Father-In-Law is a prime example of someone with a very high "IQ" but virtually NO common sense whatsoever. The man could go up against grand-master chess champions.....he can do NYTimes cross word puzzles in ink....he's just incredibly intelligent and it shows in his sons, too, as they are all way above average intelligence. However....I swear, it amazes me to this day that the man ever managed to live on his own and actually raise a family. I credit it all to his wife (my awesome Mom-In-Law!)...who's both smart AND sensible.


I love the man dearly....but he sometimes makes my head want to explode with his utter lack of sense.

Can't get by without common sense.:colbert: :colbert:

That sounds exactly like my dad Judy.. he's incredibly intelligent but he can't figure out how to change the channel on the TV without asking us first. Drives my mom and I nuts sometimes.

common sense!!!!!!!

Hmmm.I have very little of both.....Id have to go with Common sense, cause you have to make sense either way!!!

COMMON SENSE

Without it you'll have no clue where and when to point your intelligence (or lack thereof) - it would be like having a Lamborghini and no clue how to drive.

Common Sense. You can be very intelligent, but if you have no street smarts you're useless in this world.

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Originally Posted by bdehlin

Common Sense. You can be very intelligent, but if you have no street smarts you're useless in this world.

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I wouldn't go so far as to say "useless"....my example of my Father-in-law, for instance....he's a really great man and has done more for the world that most individuals I personally know. But he still doesn't have a lick of sense. :P

Maybe it's just the really intelligent people I've dealt with in life or those that just had a lot of common sense, but it seems to me in a lot of cases extreme intelligence sets those folks apart. They seem almost cold to me as if they don't easily understand others or their feelings or perhaps are uneasy in expressing their own. Most people I know that have a lot of common sense seem more connected to the world around them, more able to reach out and help or show empathy to another, a bit less rigid in personality.