Using Everything is Obvious, define common sense.

PAPER TOPIC

In Part 1 of Everything is Obvious, Duncan Watts summarizes recent research from the social sciences to convince the reader that common sense reasoning is incapable of explaining the complexities of the social world. When asking questions about society, we need to move beyond common sense, we need to use the “uncommon sense” provided by sociology. In your paper, answer the following two questions.

Using Everything is Obvious, define common sense.

Use three ideas from two different chapters from Part 1 of Everything is Obvious (chapters 1 – 6) to explain why we should be skeptical of common sense explanations for complex social phenomena.

FORMATTING

Your paper should be essay format, 2 to 3 pages, double-spaced, with 12-point font.

Include a header with your name, the date, and the title of the course.

Please include page numbers anywhere on your paper.

You do not need to worry about MLA format or include a reference page.

GRADING

Your paper is out of 20 points total. I will be grading your paper based on how clearly you define common sense and on how clearly you explain three ideas from two different chapters of Part 1 of Everything is Obvious.

Requirements: 3 pages