Common Sense
Plainspoken coverage for the moments when the normal objection still deserves a clear headline.
There Is No Reason a Coffee Order Should Take This Long
Customization has quietly replaced efficiency.
Nobody Asked for Their Refrigerator to Join the Internet
Connectivity has expanded into places where it does not improve anything.
If It Requires a Password Reset Twice a Week, It’s Not Working
Security has become indistinguishable from inconvenience.
You Don’t Need an App for Your Lights
There was a time when a switch worked, and nobody needed an update to use it.
Explain Why Every Streaming App Can Find a Trailer, a Mood, and a Brand Story but Not Episode Seven
Television menus are now so committed to becoming experiences that they occasionally forget the room came here to continue a show.
The New Porch Chair Economy and What It Says About Front-Yard Trust
Porch life remains one of the country's few surviving low-tech social systems, which is why it is now being overdecorated into a concept.
Why Every Checkout Screen Now Feels Like a Small Moral Performance
A simple purchase now arrives surrounded by prompts that suggest the machine would like a brief reading on your values before it prints the receipt.
Why Every New Neighborhood Looks Like an Airport Lounge and Nobody Seems Alarmed
Developers keep promising clean lines, efficient flow, and lifestyle-ready amenities. Residents keep discovering they now live in a place designed for brochures, not casseroles.
Common Sense stories across the site
Find Common Sense under Opinion, alongside adjacent coverage from News, Tech, and Money.
Opinion
Sharp essays, clean arguments, and a house style that favors clarity over spin.
News
Developing stories, policy fallout, and the language leaders use when trust is thin.
Tech
Devices, apps, and digital systems that keep rewriting the meaning of convenient.
Boomer Says
Shorter columns and reaction pieces from the house voice when one clear sentence can do the work of a panel.
Screenshots
Dispatches from group chats, neighborhood feeds, civic live threads, and the screenshot formats where modern behavior leaves a record.
Related columns and formats
Common Sense Bulletin and the Panic Index live closest to this desk.