“Common sense is the most evenly distributed thing in the world, for everyone is convinced that they possess enough of it not to want any more.”
(René Descartes)
So fair, so bountiful, so… curiously absent whenever someone drives fifteen miles under the speed limit in the fast lane or insists that pineapple on pizza is a flawless culinary masterpiece.
Indeed, Descartes, with one neat turn of phrase, perfectly captures humanity’s unanimous conviction that “I personally am dripping in good sense—therefore the problem must be everyone else.”
It is comforting to think the fount of rationality is so brimming in our own minds that we could not possibly accommodate an extra drop.
We are, after all, quite certain ‘everyone else’ should be the ones clamoring for an upgrade.
Surely we have reached the pinnacle of measured, logical judgment—why clutter our exalted intellect with more of that “common sense” stuff we are obviously so well-endowed with?
Best to leave that to the rest of the world, who, as we all know, need it so very desperately.
After all, if you are already perfect, what is the point in improvement?
Descartes must have been referring to the rest of humanity—our stash, obviously, is quite sufficient.