In our advanced civilization, we worship science but pooh-pooh common sense. But, perhaps surprisingly, science and common sense are conjoined twins, with common sense born first. As history, common sense is the mother of all science. For millions of years, humans used common sense, which is the same procedure as what we today call “scientific.” All cavemen were scientists and our species-survival proves it.

If you doubt it, let’s consider atomic bombs. You and I are not skilled enough to produce the bomb ourselves, but the bomb’s principle is the same as our understanding of firecrackers. All firecrackers are powered by gunpowder, which is concentrated into a small solid chunk that is exploded when heat is applied to it. The atomic process is the same: Atoms, like the gunpowder on your firecracker, are heated to explode, releasing concentrated energy, just like your firecracker.

In fact, the countries that do not have atomic bombs, yet, still rely on firecrackers (refined as guns) for weapons. No matter how complicated, all Nobel-prize winning sciences have their origins in common sense. No exception.

In science, we expect two things to be connected to each other, like split atoms and explosion. In common sense, we also know the connection between lit firecrackers and explosion. When the first part of our expectations and the second part of our expectations coincide every time, this bit of human knowledge is transformed into “scientific” knowledge (if done by scientists) and common sense for generations (if done by nonscientists).

When these two parts coincide every time in science, almost to the extent of mathematical precision, we call this a “tautology,” meaning the two parts are exactly the same as if they are one. Einstein’s famous formula “E = mc2” or our mundane “2+2=4,” is all tautology. In fact, all science is just a series of tautologies, meaning they just repeat what nature gives, adding and subtracting nothing. Science rediscovers what nature contains, nothing more and nothing less. The DNA double-helix brought a Nobel prize to its two discoverers, but that would be like discovering Mt. Everest: Both were already there before they were “discovered.”

In our common-sense life, unlike science, tautology is idiocy, never attention-worthy. If someone says, “Wrong-way driving is dangerous,” we generally respond with “Are you an idiot? Everybody knows that!” In science, such knowledge is respected as scientific knowledge. In common sense, it is so common that nobody has to mention it. But, the principle is always the same both in science and in common sense. What works in common sense also works in science, and vice versa.

No science is possible unless the subject is something visible. Even the Covid viruses and atoms are visible. Science is the simple trial-and-error process of putting two visible material things together into a single process, so we know how Covid viruses infect and how nuclear bombs explode.

What we call common sense is the poor man’s science, as it requires generations of living. When you are hungry, the physical-natural process tells you that your body needs food. But common sense must do more than simply finding food. We must also acquire the necessary knowledge to deal with the “invisible” part of our life called “human relations” which make up our social existence.

You may be surprised to hear this, but doing science, compared to “doing common sense,” is a child’s game (and in the simple-minded enthusiastic way they approach their tasks, scientists remarkably resemble children). You try something and if it works, you go to the next step. The “ease” of science is proven simply by our scientific progress: What we have in scientific development — from wheels to nuclear bombs, from windmills to computers — is quite mind-boggling.

But, during such scientific accomplishments, our common sense has become lower than the cavemen’s. We are so lacking in common sense that we make nuclear bombs kill us all and let our technology destroy our own earthly health. In America, with all the known scientific-technological marvels of humanity, we allow our corporations to completely dominate our minds with their concoctions which we can neither refuse nor resist. How (commonsensically) stupider can we get?

Unique to common sense is a human component called “wisdom,” which belongs only to common sense, but never to science. In fact, science has no idea what wisdom is and scientists, while competent in science, are not very good in common sense or wisdom. If you are an “average” scientist, you are good enough to do science. But if you are an “average” common sense person in society, the likes of you are born one every two minutes.

Our daily comfort and pleasure have become so imperative that the science-technology-industry complex, which supplies all our needs and fantasies, now dominates our common sense life and, more importantly, its wisdom component. We have simply ceased to learn from each other or from our forefathers.

Science without common-sense-plus wisdom is deadly. Consider our present and future killer, artificial intelligence. Science gives us computers, but our (lack of) common sense gives us AI. Computers take scientific steps to create, but our unique corporate logic and human stupidity create AI, which will make us all useless workers and five-year-old wards of our own creation. The process is now simply beyond our ability for objective analysis or control.

We crossed the line between common sense and science, say, 300 hundred years ago, opening Pandora’s Box for mass deaths and destruction, stress and misery — all gifts from science and the death of common-sense wisdom.

The cavemen are weeping!

Jon Huer, columnist for the Recorder and retired professor, lives in Greenfield.