Conventional wisdom is a term coined by the economistJohn Kenneth Galbraith, used to describe certain ideas or explanations that are generally accepted as true by the public. An economist is someone who studies Economics. ... John Kenneth Galbraith John Kenneth Galbraith, OC, Ph. ...
Conventional wisdom may be either true or false. Many urban legends, for example are accepted on the basis of being "conventional wisdom". Conventional wisdom is also often seen as an obstacle to introducing new theories, explanations, or revisionism. Urban legends are a kind of folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them (see rumor). ... Revisionism is a word which has several meanings. ...
The idea of Conventional Wisdom is also used in a political sense, often related closely with the phenomenon of Talking Points. It is used pejoratively to refer to the idea that statements which are repeated over and over become conventional wisdom regardless of whether or not they are true. There is always doubt. Talking points are small arguments or phrases that political strategists issue to representatives or supporters of a party or administration to be used over and over again in speeches, talk show appearances and debates. ...
Conventionalwisdom for keyboard distance is that it should be approximately at the front of the work surface.
Conventionalwisdom regarding a chair is that the chair should be at a height that allows the feet to reach the floor when the legs are in the "conventionalwisdom" position of 90 degrees (at the knee).
Conventional practice puts the monitor on top of the CPU --- the best solution in most cases is to put the monitor on the work surface, because of the monitor height issue.
Everywhere you look, conventionalwisdom is under siege, fretting about whether to worry more about global warming or dirty bombs; and whether to ask the waitress to hold the rice pilaf or the blue-cheese dressing.
The trouble with this type of conventionalwisdom, Galbraith suggested, wasn't necessarily that it was erroneous, but that it had been around so long that it tended to stifle creative thinking and concentrate power in the hands of the few.
Conventionalwisdom was the dogmatic foundation of 20th century capitalism.