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22 Cardozo L. Rev. 1433 (2000-2001)
What Is Common about Common Sense: Cautionary Tales for Travelers Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries

handle is hein.journals/cdozo22 and id is 1457 raw text is: WHAT IS COMMON ABOUT COMMON SENSE?: CAUTIONARY TALES FOR TRAVELERS CROSSING DISCIPLINARY BOUNDARIES Marilyn MacCrimmon* The aim of artificial intelligence is to provide a computational model of intelligent behavior, most importantly, commonsense reasoning. -Judea Pearl1 A common man marvels at uncommon things; a wise man marvels at the commonplace. -Confucius2 INTRODUcTION Understanding the process of proof in judicial decision making necessarily involves an appreciation of the operation of commonsense knowledge and reasoning in fact determination. Throughout the history of Western civilization, commentators have recognized the crucial role of common sense in our understanding of the world.' The central role of common sense is further highlighted by the attempts of artificial intelligence (Al) to build machines that can see, move, and act. These efforts confirm that we cannot navigate through life without tacitly drawing upon common sense. Steven Pinker illustrates: You know when Irving puts the dog in the car, it is no longer in the yard. When Edna goes to church, her head goes with her. If Doug is in the house, he must have gone in though some opening unless he was born there and never left. If Sheila is alive at 9 A.M. and is alive at 5 P.M., she was also alive at noon. Zebras in the wild never wear underwear.' * Professor, Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia. 1 JUDEA PEARL, PROBABILISTIC REASONING IN INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS: NETWORKS OF PLAUSIBLE INFERENCE 14 (1988). 2 STEVEN PINKER, HOW THE MIND WORKS 12 (1997) (quoting Confucius). 3 See, e.g., Ronald J. Allen, Common Sense, Rationality and the Legal Process, 22 CARDOZO L. REV. 1417 (2001). 4 PINKER, supra note 2, at 13-14. 1433

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