The world is advancing towards infrastructural and technological development. There is a lot of emphasis given to education and modernisation as well. Global interconnectivity due to various technological innovations has played a major role in how industry and commerce functions in the present day. But among all this, there is something that we often ignore, and it’s common sense.

Common sense is something that helps us make practical judgments in everyday matters. It is a basic ability to perceive, understand and judge many different things around us. Many people approach this through trial and error methods, but common sense appears to be diminishing in our world today. Common sense can be mostly derived from our experiences rather than formal education. But in today’s world, the importance of formal education has surpassed the significance of critical thinking.

Due to the upsurge of technology and social media applications, we consume thousands of texts every day. We have a lot of information in our hands and we have no idea to how we can use to our benefit. Looking at the latest trend, it seems as though young people have been taking all the unnecessary information and using it to their disadvantage—harming themselves and others in the process.

Even in Nepal, many people have the opportunity to get a formal education. But in that process, we have been ignoring the traditional morals and ethics that we can receive through communication with our elders. Robert Ingersoll, an American writer, once said, “It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense.”

But like everything we learn through formal or informal means, to understand common sense is a gradual progress. It is not an overnight phenomenon.

Additionally, some things that work for one may not work for the other. Most importantly, common sense usually expands through first-hand experience. But we also need to understand that we can learn from experience but we cannot force someone to get that experience.

- Wagle is a master’s student at Charotar University of Science and Technology, India