--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Common sense is the best distributed…" description: "\"Common sense is the best distributed thing in the world, for everyone thinks he is so well-endowed with it that even those who are hardest to satisfy i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/ren-descartes-1376_common-sense_common-sense-is-the-best-distributed-thi_2650385.png" --- # Common sense is the best distributed thing in the world… ![“Common sense is the best distributed thing in the world, for everyone thinks he is so well-endowed with it that even those who are hardest to satisfy in all other matters are not in the habit of desiring more of it than they already have” quote by Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/ren-descartes-1376_common-sense_common-sense-is-the-best-distributed-thi_2650385.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/ren-descartes-1376_common-sense_common-sense-is-the-best-distributed-thi_2650385.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/ren-descartes-1376_common-sense_common-sense-is-the-best-distributed-thi_2650385.png) > “Common sense is the best distributed thing in the world, for everyone thinks he is so well-endowed with it that even those who are hardest to satisfy in all other matters are not in the habit of desiring more of it than they already have” [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Common sense is widely assumed to be abundant, yet many people overestimate their own rational capacity, leading to complacency and lack of deeper inquiry. **In simple terms:** People overestimate their common sense. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about rationality. Themes philosophy humility critical thinking Mood reflective skeptical Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - decision making - education - public discourse - personal growth Key Concepts cognitive bias overconfidence Questions to Reflect On - How can we improve beyond common sense? - What role does humility play in learning? A Different Perspective Common sense may be insufficient for complex problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Satisfy Matters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfy-matters-2345348/) [Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense/) [Thinks Endowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinks-endowed-2345347/) [World Thinks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-thinks/) ## Related quotes > [Common sense is the most fairly distributed thing in the world, for each one thinks he is so well-endowed with it that even those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/common-sense-is-the-most-fairly-distributed-thing-in-the-world-for/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/nothing-is-more-fairly-distributed-than-common-sense-no-one-thinks-he/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [This world, he thinks, contains just one masterpiece, and that is itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/this-world-he-thinks-contains-just-one-masterpiece-and-that-is-itself/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [No one but a fool would measure their satisfaction by what the world thinks of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/no-one-but-a-fool-would-measure-their-satisfaction-by-what-the-world/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [It's not just people in Hollywood: I'm sure everyone in the world thinks, 'What would be it like if I won an Oscar?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-coppola/it-s-not-just-people-in-hollywood-i-m-sure-everyone-in-the-world/) [Roman Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-coppola/) > [When it seems like the whole world thinks you're bad, it's hard to hang on to your goodness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ray-hinton/when-it-seems-like-the-whole-world-thinks-you-re-bad-it-s-hard-to/) [Anthony Ray Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ray-hinton/) > [“To me, a world which thinks of itself in terms of puny, squalid, bickering little nations and not as one glorious field for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arlen/to-me-a-world-which-thinks-of-itself-in-terms-of-puny-squalid/) [Michael Arlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arlen/) > [You could be everything the world thinks you cannot be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-could-be-everything-the-world-thinks-you-cannot-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The modern world thinks of art as very important: something close to the meaning of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-modern-world-thinks-of-art-as-very-important-something-close-to/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [We change our opinions of ourselves so often. What the outside world thinks is only a small part of our image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-simon/we-change-our-opinions-of-ourselves-so-often-what-the-outside-world/) [Carly Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-simon/) > [Revolutionary leaders have to care more about what they think of themselves than what the world thinks of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-kawasaki/revolutionary-leaders-have-to-care-more-about-what-they-think-of/) [Guy Kawasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-kawasaki/) > [The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers and cities; but to know someone here and there who thinks and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-world-is-so-empty-if-one-thinks-only-of-mountains-rivers-and/) [Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“We all take on identities that are not true to ourselves. Sometimes we choose to become what the world expects to see of us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kieran-shields/we-all-take-on-identities-that-are-not-true-to-ourselves-sometimes-we/) [Kieran Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kieran-shields/) > [You can have your dream come true and be gay at the same time. This is not supposed to be a big deal. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-nunes/you-can-have-your-dream-come-true-and-be-gay-at-the-same-time-this-is/) [Amanda Nunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-nunes/) > [I think, as long as you're secure with yourself and happy with yourself, it really doesn't matter what the world around you thinks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-rocha/i-think-as-long-as-you-re-secure-with-yourself-and-happy-with/) [Coco Rocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-rocha/) ## More by Rene Descartes > [“My third maxim was to endeavour always to conquer myself rather than fortune, and change my desires rather than the order of the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/my-third-maxim-was-to-endeavour-always-to-conquer-myself-rather-than/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the self-same well from which your laughter rises was often-times filled with your tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/your-joy-is-your-sorrow-unmasked-and-the-self-same-well-from-which/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [So blind is the curiosity by which mortals are possessed, that they often conduct their minds along unexplored routes, having no reason to hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/so-blind-is-the-curiosity-by-which-mortals-are-possessed-that-they/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“For to be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it. The greatest minds, as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/for-to-be-possessed-of-a-vigorous-mind-is-not-enough-the-prime/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“It is useful to know something of the manners of different nations, that we may be enabled to form a more correct judgment regarding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/it-is-useful-to-know-something-of-the-manners-of-different-nations/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [A state is better governed which has few laws, and those laws strictly observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/a-state-is-better-governed-which-has-few-laws-and-those-laws-strictly/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [ \[About Pierre de Fermat\] It cannot be denied that he has had many exceptional ideas, and that he is a highly intelligent man. For… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/about-pierre-de-fermat-it-cannot-be-denied-that-he-has-had-many/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Science is practical philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/science-is-practical-philosophy/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [ “And what more am I? I look for aid to the imagination. \[But how mistakenly!\] I am not that assemblage of limbs we call… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/and-what-more-am-i-i-look-for-aid-to-the-imagination-but-how/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“And, in fine, of false sciences I thought I knew the worth sufficiently to escape being deceived by the professions of an alchemist, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/and-in-fine-of-false-sciences-i-thought-i-knew-the-worth-sufficiently/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/nothing-is-more-fairly-distributed-than-common-sense-no-one-thinks-he/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [If I go for the alternative which is false, then obviously I shall be in error; if I take the other side, then it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/if-i-go-for-the-alternative-which-is-false-then-obviously-i-shall-be/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Everything is self-evident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/everything-is-self-evident/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Neither the true nor the false roots are always real; sometimes they are imaginary; that is, while we can always imagine as many roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/neither-the-true-nor-the-false-roots-are-always-real-sometimes-they/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [It is only intelligence that is divided equally between people because everybody thinks he/she is enough wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/it-is-only-intelligence-that-is-divided-equally-between-people/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) [Explore all 232 Rene Descartes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) ## More Common sense quotes > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Below the 40th latitude there is no law; below the 50th no god; below the 60th no common sense and below the 70th no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley/below-the-40th-latitude-there-is-no-law-below-the-50th-no-god-below/) [Kim Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley/) > [I have never seen either a drop of piety or a grain of truth or ingenuousness - nay, I have never found common sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/i-have-never-seen-either-a-drop-of-piety-or-a-grain-of-truth-or/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [How is it that labels like 'centrist' and 'moderate,' which common sense tells us should reflect the views of a majority of Americans, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehdi-hasan/how-is-it-that-labels-like-centrist-and-moderate-which-common-sense/) [Mehdi Hasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehdi-hasan/) > [“It was true that common sense wasn’t her forte. It wasn’t that she was silly or stupid, but she heard so many more voices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-goddard/it-was-true-that-common-sense-wasn-t-her-forte-it-wasn-t-that-she-was/) [Donna Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-goddard/) > [“The accident in your rearview mirror already happened. The one in front of you is still preventable. Pay attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nakia-r-laushaul/the-accident-in-your-rearview-mirror-already-happened-the-one-in/) [Nakia R. Laushaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nakia-r-laushaul/) > [In Raleigh, partisan battles, power struggles and lawsuits might grab the headlines, but we have to work together where we can. To look beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-cooper/in-raleigh-partisan-battles-power-struggles-and-lawsuits-might-grab/) [Roy Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-cooper/) > [“Listen: Common sense doesn't mean what it used to mean." -Matthias Chalmers, STAIRWAY2 HEAVEN”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-thompson/listen-common-sense-doesn-t-mean-what-it-used-to-mean-matthias/) [Chaz Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-thompson/) > [“when people’s brains are in defensive mode, it becomes harder to see common sense. Small disagreements can end up holding back progress beyond reason.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-webb/when-people-s-brains-are-in-defensive-mode-it-becomes-harder-to-see/) [Caroline Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-webb/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [ As we have seen after every other \[Donald\] Trump controversy, this one only increased their enthusiasm for him. His supporters thought the idea of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-inskeep/as-we-have-seen-after-every-other-donald-trump-controversy-this-one/) [Steve Inskeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-inskeep/) > [Using, as an excuse, others' failure of common sense is in itself a failure of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/using-as-an-excuse-others-failure-of-common-sense-is-in-itself-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) [Browse all 1,942 Common sense quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Common sense is the best distributed thing in the world, for everyone thinks he is so well-endowed with it that even those who are hardest to satisfy in all other matters are not in the habit of desiring more of it than they already have", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rene Descartes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/common-sense-is-the-best-distributed-thing-in-the-world-for-everyone/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Common sense" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/common-sense-is-the-best-distributed-thing-in-the-world-for-everyone/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/ren-descartes-1376_common-sense_common-sense-is-the-best-distributed-thi_2650385.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/ren-descartes-1376_common-sense_common-sense-is-the-best-distributed-thi_2650385.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/ren-descartes-1376_common-sense_common-sense-is-the-best-distributed-thi_2650385.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Common sense is the best distributed thing in the world, for everyone thinks he is so well-endowed with it…” — Rene Descartes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rene Descartes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Common sense is the best distributed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/common-sense-is-the-best-distributed-thing-in-the-world-for-everyone/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/common-sense-is-the-best-distributed-thing-in-the-world-for-everyone/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```