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A Hearty Greetings, My name is not Eustace, but I'm fond of anonymity and adore the name. I understand protocol is to greet and introduce oneself before conducting any topics or subjects, yet disposing of formalities, I have something I wish to discuss beforehand, something I have ruminated on for many years now, and only recently has it become apparent as to why. I do indeed intend to enter a post under the "Meet And Greet" subheading, but you will have to bear with me for the time being - in that post, I too shall explain my situation for those who wish to delve into that aspect of myself. Okay, allow us to begin. Indeed, 'Use your common sense' is an exhortation I have encountered far too many times to count, in many workplace situations, in various schools and related environments of study, at home on occasion, and in the past when with friends. Each time I encounter this "common sense" phenomenon, I fail to precisely detail what it is, of what its core concept consists of, and on which foundations it stands. Allowing ourselves to dissect the components of the wording - that is, separating "common" and "sense" - we create for ourselves two definitions: firstly, 'Common', meaning "1, Occurring or done often, 2, Ordinary, 3, Shared", and secondly, 'Sense', meaning "1, Any of the powers used to perceive, 2, A feeling that something is the case, 3, Awareness, 4, A sensible and practical attitude, 5, a meaning". Now, considering these definitions, the logical course of action here would be to connect the highest-relating separate definitions together so as to reach a rational explication of the statement. Therefore, in consideration of semantics and the means by which the "common sense" statement is generally used, the rational definitions to fuse are as follows: 'Common', meaning "2, Ordinary", and 'Sense', meaning "1, Any of the powers used to perceive" - resulting in the fusion, 'Common Sense', meaning "The ordinary way to perceive". _____So then, relating the concise definition to my own experiences with the phenomenon, why then have I been accused of lacking, or on occasion, having absolutely no common sense; 'use your common sense boy!' a declaration directed towards me many times, and like I say, each time resulting in a nebulousness of understanding. 'Twould seem then, that I seemingly don't perceive things via ordinary means, and although I still ponder my previous encounters with the phenomenon, only now is it clear - I don't perceive things the way others do. Recent events in my life - through personal choice and an inability to continue living the way I was - have resulted with my diagnosis of Aspergers Syndrome ... well, my final appointment is on the 9th of December; the ultimatum as it were, but all professionals I have seen recently say I do indeed have this condition. Having done a profound amount of research, of which is par for the course, it seems as clear as a summer atmosphere now why the common sense phenomenon has affected me so. _____However, the Aspergers diagnosis can only be considered a slight cause for my altered perception in relation to the phenomenon, that is, despite my hypersensitivity to smells, sound, and touch, common sense; directly opposing my own logical definition, is used in the general consensus - considering the majority of my own experiences - is used in the respect of practicality. The times I have been most confused with the accusations arise when I've been asked to physically do something, and have seemingly done it in ulterior fashion to what I now see as the 'norm'. For instance, I used to work in a warehouse and was asked once to organize the Christmas stock. Before beginning, I asked just where the stock should be placed, to which I was told something along the lines of, 'wherever it will go.' After having organized that which I could, the individual whom reviewed my placement was astonished as to how I had organized things, which of course to me made complete logical sense, and I was interrogated as to why I did things so, leading to the question 'where is your common sense?' Now I wasn't sure at the time, but upon rumination I think the question is only used in a negative or offensive way; perhaps the age-old power conundrum of human nature? I'm not sure if this example will suffice, if not, I'm sure I could enter my head-house and find another situation wherein I was posed the question. _____Yes, this common sense thing definitely alludes me, thus why I felt it a good idea to join this website. In the hopes of sharing experiences with other fine gentlemen and gentlewomen, I now pose my audience the question: Prey tell me, what are your experiences with common sense? I thank you for your time. Eustace.