• Riskable@programming.dev
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    4 days ago

    I just want to point something out: Knowing not to drink battery fluid is not common sense!

    Common sense is something that anyone would “just know” by instinct. Like not running out on to a highway with vehicles traveling at high speed. No one needs to teach that because it’s obvious from a glance.

    If someone had never encountered a highway and never heard of such a thing they might wander out onto one when there’s no traffic. Would that be a failing of common sense? No! Because that type of decision-making requires some education/experience.

    Lead tastes sweet! I haven’t tried it (haha) but there’s a reason why loads of children get lead poisoning by eating it every year. If you didn’t know that it’s poisonous and haven’t been educated about not eating/tasting random things you might just try the lead acid of a car battery! Especially if it’s really old and has become less acidic (that’s what sulfation does: Reduces the acidity).

    “Common sense” is actually just a practical form of, “basic education”. Not everyone gets it and everyone always has gaps in their knowledge. What’s common sense to one person isn’t to another.

    TL;DR: Common sense is a myth. We’re all born ignorant.