Wikipedia:Ignore common sense

The purpose of Wikipedia is to create a rigid framework of rules and procedures. Sure, there's an encyclopedia around here somewhere too, but if reference works make you nervous and depressed, then simply ignore common sense as you go about working on the site.

Whenever possible, the encyclopedia should be disregarded, as this is necessary to make the ruleset larger. Failure to create new rules for every imaginable purpose is not good; the corollary to "Ignore common sense" is "Don't disrupt pointmaking to create an encyclopedia".

Remember &mdash; ignoring common sense is about cutting through encyclopedias to construct red tape. Some actions may be unreasonable, but they should be done anyway, as long as doing so is supported by a strict interpretation of a certain rule. The letter of the rules is more important than the spirit.

Rationale
Wikipedia has a tendency of attracting intelligent editors. Some want to be or are doctors, scientists or historians; others, however, want to be or are lawyers or bureaucrats. Wikipedia must therefore assist in developing the thought process of the latter group.