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Sunday, March 6, 2011

Using Our Common Sense... Makes Things Simplier

Sometimes, the problem with us is we think too much in solving a problem.  Instead of making it simpler for the common understanding, we make it a little bit more complicated.  And that defeats the purpose of problem solving... 1+1=2, plain and simple but others may look at it this way: 12+(1x1/1)=2.  

I remember a friend who shared this simple yet perfect illustration of using common sense:

An astronaut once brought a ballpen in space, due to gravity, the pen won't write.  So he send his problem to his country and due to the urgency of the situation, their scientists immediately created a pen that would not be affected by gravity...  that made them spend millions for research and development.  The rival country, however, had no problem with their space exploration... they used "PENCIL"  in writing.

We are studying and working for the purpose of making life easier for others and the coming generation.  But as I look at it, the subjects of students today are becoming more and more complicated that our children find it hard to digest and comprehend.  Even their teachers find it hard  to teach the young minds these complicated things.

Our working environment is not an exception, many of us delegate tasks that might be simpler if done by us alone.  Some also ask questions with easy answers .. I don't know if they just over analyze things... but this just makes them look like dull.  Let me give you an example:

In a known corporation, an inspector saw that the plants were wilted due to not being properly taken care of.  So he made a report out of it, and gave this to his head for review.  The head looking at his recommendations asked him to review the policies of the corporation if he can find something about bringing the plants outside and watering them.  It took the inspector couple of months scanning every policy of the corporation but he  did not find any.  So he brought this to the attention of his head, and another idea popped out.  The head asked him to ask all plant in-charge if they remembered watering the particular wilted plants the past few months ago.  It took him two weeks to get all their feedback and all the answers he had were  "No(s)" and "Maybes".  Not successful of getting any information, the inspector returned to his head empty handed.  Having no sufficient evidence and since the report was outdated, nothing happened.

Why do we make things too hard?  Isn't it the purpose of why we're studying and working  is to somehow make our lives and the lives of our future generation easier?  Or maybe we are just bombarded with too many knowledge that we are no longer sure of what is the right thing to do... Sometimes, the best thing to do is to go "back to basic"... THINK SIMPLE and use your COMMON SENSE. God bless.

10 comments:

  1. common sense , we seldom neglect this words, intentionally or unintentionally.I think even the intelligent/brainy one sometimes lacks common sense , just like your example of a pen on the outer space.

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  2. An astronaut once brought a ballpen in space, due to gravity, the pen won't write. So he send his problem to his country and due to the urgency of the situation, their scientists immediately created a pen that would not be affected by gravity... that made them spend millions for research and development. The rival country, however, had no problem with their space exploration... they used "PENCIL" in writing.

    >>> This was also presented in the indian movie 3 idiots.

    Common sense... is the sense that's not common for everyone. :)

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  3. I'm always drawn to this thought, is life too complicated or I am just too simple? Somehow, I get it when you know what you want, life is simple but when you don't your priorities, it becomes difficult and complicated. So, I guess that's how common sense have become so uncommon these days.

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  4. I witness the lack of use of common sense among students everyday as I am a teacher. Believe me, this is a prevailing problem.:)

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  5. Minsan mahirap talagang gamitin ang common sense lately

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  6. Simple problem may take a hundred years to solve it because of protocol, because of rules to follow, etc. In the very essence of such idea, common sense will do, especially when it is an emergency.

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  7. Hello Sir Ralph.

    Common sense is not that common ? Before we start complicating things, we should really see them in the simplest way we can. Pero tendencies are, we could get really clouded or we can be really stubborn at times.

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  8. You're absolutely RIGHT!
    Often times, we hardly find ways to
    solve simple problems... We complicate
    things and after a while, we realize that
    it's easy as one, two, three.

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  9. Common sense... ito ang nakakalimutan ng tao na meron siya.
    Lahat pinahihirap natin minsan.. pero ang sagot lang ay napasimple..:)

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  10. There's always more than one solution to any given problem. And I agree, sometimes the answer is right there in front of you, and you just have to use your common sense :D

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