If true that common sense is uncommon then it follows that those who have it are uncommoners. Is it a skill that can be taught?

If you have to teach something that should be obvious to anyone with a brain...touching something very hot is inadvisable..I'd say the student is lacking in observation skills. You watch mama fry eggs in a pan on the stove. Wanna put your hand there where the pan is? Why would you need to be taught something like that?

Isn't common sense that which arises logically organically naturally? If it has to be taught then how is it common sense?

Common sense is defined as "independent of specialized knowledge training or the like; normal NATIVE intelligence". Same with dressing for the weather. Mama bundles up toddler in the winter and tries to keep him cool in the summer with as few clothes as possible. By observation toddler figures out how to dress for the weather. It doesn't need "teaching". Color me confused Walt. Apologies for dragging this out. You know how you usually come up with one word that demystifies things for me? Got one? Thank you for your reply m'dear.

I wouldn't say learning to not touch hot surfaces, or dressing for the weather, is "specialized knowledge training".
I would also say the example of dressing for the weather is teaching.  So would it be, if the child had to learn by trial-and-error.

And sometimes hot surfaces don't appear hot.  
We had an old, cast iron wood stove that had a steel "heat shield" around it.
You could touch some of the "heat shield" without getting burned - but other spots, not.
It was generally a case of trial-and-error.  lol

How important is OBSERVATION Walt? You see how mama and papa get bundled up in winter as you go from infant to toddler. You mimic them. I wonder how acute the power of observation is in the very young and if a GENIUS kid notices things like that from a very early age? Comprehends more quickly what things mean? I dunno. I remember when I was 3 my mom putting me a snowsuit. We lived in a suburb of Detroit called Highland Park. I don't remember her ever telling me anything about how to dress. I just watched what she put on me and took it from there. Maybe I'm nitpicking. I think of "teaching" as a specific action based on instruction. Sometimes the only instruction a kid gets is by observing. Thank you for your reply. This post was edited by RosieG at December 6, 2019 8:45 AM MST