This is a classic human story. In the early days of the initiative, we all get swept up in the excitement: a new idea, modern technology, and shiny plans. Then reality walks in wearing steel boots, and only then do our business stakeholders and sponsors say, “Wait, this is not exactly making sense?” In that moment, we realize the new idea wasn’t fully grounded. Enthusiasm, which had been driving the car, suddenly gave way to logic. It reflects something said in the spirit of Aristotelian tradition –

“ Zeal is the spark that begins the journey, but only prudent judgment keeps the path straight.”

Sense Isn’t So Common

This brings me to something I often say, “Common Sense is not so common after all.” People laugh and nod in agreement. I wonder why that is the case. In the quest for an authoritative source on what exactly Common Sense is and why we find it missing, I came across a 2024 article that makes the same claim. The article features Professors Duncan Watts and Mark Whiting of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Wharton School, who are developing a unique framework to quantify the concept of Common Sense.

I started looking for more to see how this Common Sense, as a societal concept, is actually explained, and, shockingly, I didn’t find much content from any authoritative sources until one source caught my attention. I came across the book, “Common Sense, How to Exercise It” by Yoritomo Tashi, a Japanese philosopher who is presumed to be from the 12th century. The book states that Common Sense isn’t something we’re automatically born using well, it’s something we have to develop and practice if we want to get the full value out of it. Yoritomo Tashi wrote about how to build and strengthen Common Sense for everyday life and how to utilize it profitably in the business world. The book provided a clear direction for my own thinking. Its emphasis on “exercising” Common Sense for the greater good stood out as a defining insight.

Common Sense for Everyone’s Benefit

Let me share a light-hearted example of a time when I tried “exercising” Common Sense at home. I’m sure you will agree that getting kids to brush their teeth before going to bed can feel like a daily battle. Kids don’t always see the point, and it easily turns into arguments. So, I start with a simple question: “If brushing your teeth is this hard, should I be the one brushing them for you?” That always gets a smile and breaks the tension. Once I have their attention, I make it clear that brushing takes only two minutes, especially with an electric brush; it’s basically effortless. Then I point out the simple math: arguing about it will take five to seven minutes and leaves everyone annoyed, but brushing takes just two minutes. The outcome – everyone is happy, saving their three to five minutes. It proves the value of using Common Sense for everyone’s benefit – for the greater good.

Yoritomo Tashi continues by saying one of the unique qualities of a person who cultivates Common Sense is that the person is willing to admit their errors. I found this especially interesting. Such people are always looking for corrections, and that habit soon develops into a self-correction mechanism with the essence of deep learning. This reminds me of Professor Yuval Noah Harari’s book Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age, which focuses on how strong self-correcting mechanisms exposed and rectified the errors of scientific institutions themselves. These self-correcting mechanisms became the engine of the scientific revolution. The researchers from UPenn are also interested in developing methods to measure and implement Common Sense in AI systems that could improve AI’s understanding of human contexts and enhance its decision-making capabilities. So, it’s just not us, we humans, to acquire Common Sense but we are already thinking about implementing in AI systems.

Common Sense – Central Sense

Yoritomo Tashi’s book further expands the definition of Common Sense. He argues that Common Sense varies in its character, it changes with our environment, culture, experiences, and education. Without this quality, it’s tough to judge what truly matters and what doesn’t. It’s a mix of reasoning, wisdom, memory, perception, and everyday practical thinking. He calls it a “central sense”, the place where all our impressions come together with one intention: the desire to understand the truth. And when that happens, we deepen our knowledge.

Another example that comes to mind. One summer, we hosted a pool party for my younger son’s birthday. His friends, a bunch of middle schoolers, were all excited to jump in the pool, and he asked me, “Which side should we jump from?” I said, “Well, it depends. If you’re a strong swimmer, don’t dive into the shallow side. And if you’re not, stick to the shallow end and you all should be careful not to jump too close to the wall. His friends looked at me as if I were suddenly giving them an official pool lesson. One of them even said, “Yep, we got it. That’s just Common Sense.” I couldn’t help but smile, and then they all jumped in with a big splash.

The Case for Common Sense

So how do we bring this very human element of psychology into a field like Data and AI Governance, a space that continues to evolve, full of diverse viewpoints, and built on collaboration? Adoption and change management alone have already been a huge uphill climb. We get so caught up in building technical capabilities and focusing on the engineering side of governance that we sometimes forget the practical business value behind it all. For example, does it make any sense to harvest and curate the entire data flows, ETLs, and data pipelines? That’s why I want to treat Common Sense as an essential part of the 1lessclick^® Experience and recognize it as our third guiding principle. Its simplicity and truthfulness will keep us grounded.

From my own experience, I’ve come to believe that we should exercise Common Sense especially in ideating and designing end-to-end engineering solutions in the realm of Data and AI Governance. This gift of reasoning should be bestowed on everyone, just like we often say,

“ Data Governance is everyone’s responsibility. ”

When the Common Sense of each of us, the extensions of who we are comes together, it forms a collective effort that makes the successful implementation of Data Governance processes far more achievable.