Just by its meaning, common sense means having sound judgment when it comes to practical matters. The definition assumes that sound judgment is common to those who have reached some level of emotional maturity.

Well, just like the dinosaurs, we may soon be saying that common sense is slowly but surely becoming an extinct characteristic of the human race.

I recently purchased a battery powered snow thrower. The first page of the instruction booklet listed 16 safety precautions, five assorted warnings and a full page of 14 safety symbols. One of the warnings was, “For Outdoor Use Only.” Well, that’s good to know so I won’t use it if it snows 3 inches in my kitchen. Another precaution was, “Do not use while under the influence of drugs or alcohol and I wondered if I could get a TWSI, Throwing Snow While Intoxicated summons while using it after I drank a couple of rum and Cokes.

Then there was “Do not operate the snowblower without wearing proper winter garments.” Good thing I read that. I was going to blow the snow in my bathing suit. “Never discharge the snow intentionally at people.” Really? I would love to shoot the snow right on top of ol’ crabby Mrs. Lishka when she steps out on her porch in her robe to pick up the newspaper.

One of the symbols came with the words, “Dismemberment hazard,” if you should put your feet under the rotating auger. Glad I saw that too in case I should want to see what it feels like to stick my toes inside the moving blades.

Here’s a few other products with safety precautions that have me wondering about the common sense level of people in this country. “Do not hold the wrong end of a chain saw.” How about “Never use a hair dryer while sleeping.” Then there’s “Do not put any person in this washing machine” and “Not for human consumption” for a urine product that is intended to keep foxes and bobcats off your property.

Here’s a really good one. “Do not put pets in microwave.” Years ago, a woman tried to dry the rainwater off of her cat by putting the feline inside a microwave oven and the poor kitty died by implosion. Reportedly, the woman sued the manufacturer because it didn’t say you couldn’t use it to dry a pet. Yes, she won the suit. Now they all must say, “food items only” in the directions.

My research about common sense has found that using sound judgment is very much an individual decision which then means it really isn’t a universal understanding. Charles Alday from the website “Systems Thinkers” contends that you can’t train anyone to have common sense. It’s a product of personal experience.

He also says that when a group of people conduct behavior that makes you scratch your head, once again your idea of sound judgment may not be their understanding and for that matter, each individual in the group has a different perspective about how to act with sound judgment.

Then there’s the idea that those who live their lives by not taking risks or doing anything outside the expected rules of behavior are boring people. Playwright George Bernard Shaw said, “He’s a man of great common sense and good taste, meaning thereby a man without originality or moral courage.”

According to Shaw, those we call heroes act without common sense. The soldier runs through a line of fire to save his comrade or the firefighter enters a raging inferno with the building collapsing around him.

Stanford University professor, John McCarthy says, “… ‘common’ means that making sound judgments about what to do or not to do in a given situation is what the majority of people would choose to do.”

I’m reminded of a TV commercial in which a group of young adults are trying to escape a masked man who wants to kill them all. The group disputes what is the best thing to do. One young man says they should jump in the car that has the engine running and drive away from the site of horror.

“Are you kidding me?” cries a young lady. “Let’s hide behind the chain saws.” As they cower beneath a wall of chain saws in the barn, the killer stands right behind them shaking his head like how stupid can all of you be.

One might think that the better educated we become, the more understanding we have and that gives us a greater common sense. Yet, I have known people with post-doctorate degrees, and though they can tell you more about their subject than you’ll ever want to know, they are often clueless when it comes to practical and mechanical things that we all should know something about.

American lawyer Robert G. Ingersoll said, “It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than education without common sense.”

As we hear of the repeated failures of people making poor judgments about everything from raising children to drying a cat in the microwave, the words of 19th century newspaper editor Horace Greeley still ring true today.

“Common sense is very uncommon.”

Excuse me now. I have to go and plug in my radio on the edge of the tub while I take a bath.

Rich Strack can be reached at richiesadie11@gmail.com.