There is a book, "The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: What Every
American Needs to Know", which, in about 500 pages, systematically
summarizes every tidbit of information about literature, religion,
art, politics, history, technology, and science which you need to know
in order to be "book smart" in America.

My question: Is there any book out there which attempts to summarize
the other half of human knowledge, common sense? I'm looking for
something like "a list of 1,000 to 10,000 facts and concepts you need
to know for daily life and long-term planning".

It's hard to explain exactly what I'm looking for, so feel free to ask
for clarifications.

Hi gremlin-ga,

The shelves of bookstores are stocked with self help books that try to
do exactly what you're asking about.

http://www.lessons4living.com/resiliency_training.htm
"Lessons for Living: Simple Solutions to Life's Problems is a
self-help book with practical advice on what to do to make life go
better. Each short, easy-to-read chapter has common sense information
to help you change your life."

http://www.mypotential.ie/work/books.html
Stephen R. Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has long topped
the list of good books for managing life. "As with many self-help
books, much of what you read here is based on basic common sense and
can at times be irritatingly obvious. However, what Covey manages to
do so successfully is to break down the barriers which prevent all of
us from taking a long hard look at ourselves, and then gradually
introduces new rules which allow us to move first from dependence to
independence and then towards the ultimate goal of interdependence."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671708635/qid=1041717572/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/103-8615677-1742201?v=glance&s=books

Amazon has lists of self help books suggested by readers:

Interesting and well written self help books
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/2BKVQM3OI9PE4/qid=1041717572/sr=5-5/ref=sr_5_5/103-8615677-1742201

Best Life Helpers
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/1Z4HFLG44WH8P/ref=cm_lm_lists/103-8615677-1742201

The Very Best on Waking up and Being YOU
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/CYLWPNJ0JLJ0/ref=cm_lm_lists/103-8615677-1742201

Self improvement books
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/3VJGYJ2783Y4Z/ref=cm_lm_lists/103-8615677-1742201

So you'd like to ... Create An Isotropic Life Filled With Meaning And
Joy
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/34CHGB6PONS0W/ref=cm_bg_lm/103-8615677-1742201

So you'd like to ... Feel Beautiful
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/2P0YDHT84Y463/ref=cm_bg_guides/103-8615677-1742201

My Simple Favorites
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/L8MK53ALLAUZ/ref=cm_lm_dp_l_1/103-8615677-1742201

and that's just scratching the surface.

John McCarthy adressed the issue from an AI standpoint in FORMALIZING
COMMON SENSE. The main article that deals with this is online at
http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/ailogic/ailogic.html. In trying to
create a systemfor artificial intelligence to learn "common sense"
several interesting issues are discussed.

Thomas Reid: An Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of
Common Sense (Reid, Thomas, Selections.)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/0271020717/reviews/qid=1041722173/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-8615677-1742201
ponders the philosophy of common sense and has been respected in the
field since it's editorial debut in 1785.

A Common Sense Human Manual http://humanmanuals.com/common.html is
written with a Chritian bias, but aims to be "a common sense book of
awareness and a guide to save lives and increase the Happiness Ratio
for Everyone."

Perfect Parenting: The Dictionary of 1000 Parenting Tips turns the
focus rom using common sense to improve ourselves to recognizing it as
a tool for perfect parenting.
http://www.aaabooksearch.com/ISBN/0809228475

The Little Blue Book of Fitness and Health: 393 Common-Sense Tips to
Help You Achieve Optimum Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Health
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1558536744/qid=1041723734/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/103-8615677-1742201?v=glance&s=books
provides common sense tips for life.

The list could continue indefinitely, but limiting it to one book that
does the job is impossible.

Common sense tells me to stop now!

Search terms: Dictionary of 1000 Common sense tips

Enjoy,
bcguide-ga

Enjoy,

---

Request for Answer Clarification by gremlin-ga on 05 Jan 2003 21:07 PST

My question was probably too vague. Let me give you some examples...

I'm NOT looking for self-help like "Take a pro-active attitude towards
your job" or "The first step in dealing with your anger is to
acknowledge it"

I'm NOT looking for encyclopedias of academic knowledge like "The
human body is made of 3 billion cells" or "The US was last invaded in
the War of 1812".

What I am looking for is a list of everyday facts that most adults
know, like these: "Onions last forever, but tomatoes go bad in a
couple weeks", "If you're going to be driving through the mountains in
the winter, it's a good idea to call ahead to find out how bad the
roads are", "Pulling out a book while an orchestra is performing is
very rude", and "If you take in a bottle of your own wine to a formal
restaurant, they may charge you a portage fee"

Did you find any books like that?

---

Clarification of Answer by bcguide-ga on 06 Jan 2003 08:11 PST

Hi gremlin-ga, 
 
The closest one to what you're describing is probably
Family Circle 2000 Hints & Tips: Great Ideas for Managing Your Time,
Your Home, Your Self
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385494459/qid=1041869206/sr=1-23/ref=sr_1_23/103-8615677-1742201?v=glance&s=books

There are tons of books that discuss etiquette and many others that
give great household tips, but this one puts it all together.

Great topic! 

Thanks,
bcguide-ga