User:KelseyStrom/Common knowledge

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Considering which group has the common knowledge: In broader terms, common knowledge is used to refer to information that an agent would accept as valid, such as information that multiple individuals may know. Assigning something the label of common knowledge requires certain considerations about the involved community, group, society and/or individuals, the time period, and the and the location.

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Many techniques have been developed in response to the question of distinguishing truth from fact in matters that have become "common knowledge". The scientific method is usually applied in cases involving phenomena associated with astronomy, mathematics, physics, and the general laws of nature. In legal settings, rules of evidence generally exclude hearsay (which may draw on "facts" someone believes to be "common knowledge").

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Thinking of adding: Common knowledge is often used in economics to understand choices.

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Establishment Difficulties
It can be difficult to define something as common knowledge because there are variations in what is considered common knowledge amongst different groups. For example, The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, might be considered common knowledge amongst people residing in the United States of a certain age, but cannot be considered common knowledge when considering the general population of other countries.

Another issue that must be considered is that of the time period. Common knowledge is not always stable, and can shift over time to create new common knowledge. Knowledge that was once considered common knowledge amongst a group, society, or community might later become known as false. For example, for centuries it was common knowledge in Europe that the sun revolved around the Earth, but after years of arguments, it is not common knowledge that the Earth revolves around the sun.

On a larger global scale, it is difficult to define almost any knowledge as common knowledge because it is difficult to know how far a fact has spread in global populations. For example, the current president of the United States might be considered common knowledge in much of the world because of the power associated with that position, but one cannot assume that there is global recognition of this fact as common knowledge without further research into the knowledge of global populations.

Common Belief
It is hard to define fact from belief and thus there are scholars who prefer to separate common knowledge from common belief. Common belief is something that is more easily defines because the requirement is only that a majority or people within a specific group, community, or society believe something to be true whereas common knowledge must meet this requirement and also prove that the belief is a fact. For example, if a mayor of a city gets up in front of a crowd and announces that he is resigning, it could be considered common belief that he is going to resign but common knowledge that he has made an announcement about his potential pending resignation. Not all scholars seem to make the distinction between common knowledge and common belief.