Common Knowledge

[rowanwitch]

Common knowledge means different things to different people... For example the vast majority understand how email addresses are formed.  But asked for help by an elderly acquaintance who was having problems emailing her daughter was brought home to me that common doesn't mean universal.   She had carefully written down the addresses her daughter told her. 

Format.  Marysmith95atgmail.com.   It's what she was told and she only understood correct spelling as she was told.  It would be very easy to look down on her lack of knowledge but it was information that only became relevant to her when she needed to use it.

Maybe you can think of other examples     of things you could assume to be common knowledge that might not be. 

[barry1010]

This is a great question and I know there are many such examples - but typically, I can't think of one at the moment.

 

[albaqwerty]

Creating Web site names. Eg

Volkswagenitalia

[rowanwitch]

Love to see that on Answer smash. ( Richard Osman's house of games)

Other things  that should be common knowledge but seem to be far from it wiring a plug, and CPR, where food comes from, ....

[Canary42]

Cast your eyes over some of TTT's TWAU threads for various opinions on this.

 

[rowanwitch]

To some extent that prompted this.  To point out that because we and many others know something not everyone does,  It may be educational opportunities, it may be because someone grows up, and later marries within a tradition of strict gender roles.  

I know all sorts of strange stuff. I also understand that it is somewhat presumptive to assume someone is stupid because they don't know the same things.  

[Arksided]

The Difference between a Search Engine and a Browser.

[Atheist]

A search engine is a type of rescue vehicle and a browser is a sheep or deer.

[rowanwitch]

Good one Arksided  

[rowanwitch]

Or a giraffe... I like that Atheist.

[albaqwerty]

Wiring a plug, brown to the right, brown has an R in it, blue to the left because blue has an etc etc.

An electrician told me that in a helpful, nonpatronising way several decades ago.

Only handy to know if you're wiring plugs :)

 

[rowanwitch]

But judging by the amount of plugs I had to wire for local oldies not common knowledge... 

[DTCwordfan]

a search engine is what you do after parking your vehicle in Newham in London, a browser is a dirty old man or woman eyeing up the other sex in a library or book shop.

As to the question, that toilet-paper has a right side to use....

 

[DTCwordfan]

On average, a human being will spend up two weeks kissing in their lifetime.

The average adult spends more time on the toilet than they do exercising.

[rowanwitch]

Blooming hell, I hardly wasted any time kissing,  but to late to catch up now

[Arksided]

Too busy doing the more fun stuff eh Rowan, I like your thinking, now I know that little fact from DTC. 

[rowanwitch]

No point in having a youth if you don't mispend it!

[Maydup]

It's common knowledge that if you drive a car, you check the oil and top up the windscreen wash regularly, but many people don't do it or know how to. 
I had no idea that some people leave it and if the oil light comes on they take the car to the garage! 

[haras2]

When I started teaching Science in the sixties, "how to wire a plug" was part of the (now) Year 7 syllabus ....is it there now ?