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conventional thinking vs conventional wisdom

Both 'conventional thinking' and 'conventional wisdom' are correct phrases, but they are used in slightly different contexts. 'Conventional thinking' refers to the usual or typical way of thinking about something, while 'conventional wisdom' refers to beliefs or ideas that are widely accepted as true by a group of people. The choice between the two depends on whether you want to emphasize the act of thinking or the accepted beliefs.

Last updated: March 29, 2024

conventional thinking

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to refer to the usual or typical way of thinking about something.

Use 'conventional thinking' when you want to talk about the usual or typical way of thinking about a particular topic or issue.

Examples:

  • Conventional thinking suggests that hard work leads to success.
  • We need to challenge conventional thinking and explore new ideas.
  • Her unconventional approach challenged conventional thinking in the industry.
  • Not by permanently damaging the neurons, which has been the conventional thinking, but by over-stimulating them.
  • Conventional thinking has it that this is the best time for a launch to Mars because the thrust required
  • The conventional thinking has been that trauma leads to distress, and there's been a lot of focus on the resulting dysfunction.
  • I want Starbuck in here... because she's not weighed down by conventional thinking.
  • It's an idea for a new kind of school, which turns on its head much of our conventional thinking about what schools are for and how they work.
  • New technology is not the key to a good future; we need non-conventional thinking in all fields, in firms as well as in public administration.
  • Are you thinking conventional mattress or perhaps memory foam?
  • Does this report really add anything new aside from the usual litany of concepts and slogans relating to conventional egalitarian thinking and to non-discrimination?
  • Or were you thinking more conventional?
  • We gathered from his appearance here on 24 June that he was not thinking of embarking on an ambitious reform under any circumstances and that he would confine himself to the 'conventional measures'.
  • And I'm thinking not just a conventional drag race, let's make it a Le Mans style drag race.
  • It focuses too much on conventional energy solutions rather than renewable energy ones; on centralised systems rather than decentralised ones; on traditional, economic tools rather than new thinking; on purely technical measures rather than an holistic approach.

Alternatives:

  • traditional thinking
  • typical thinking
  • common thinking
  • standard thinking
  • mainstream thinking

conventional wisdom

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to refer to beliefs or ideas that are widely accepted as true by a group of people.

Use 'conventional wisdom' when you want to refer to widely accepted beliefs or ideas within a particular group or society.

Examples:

  • According to conventional wisdom, early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
  • The company ignored conventional wisdom and took a different approach to marketing.
  • Despite conventional wisdom, she decided to pursue a career in the arts.
  • Contrary to conventional wisdom, the issue is not one of pure doctrine.
  • Unfortunately, these distorted results have become conventional wisdom - even for respected economists like the Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, who recently invoked the flawed "50% youth unemployment" figure.
  • This contradicts American economists' conventional wisdom that fast-growing countries should borrow today against their larger future shares in the world economy.
  • Yet when it came to a disease like diabetes that kills Americans eight times more frequently than melanoma, I never once questioned the conventional wisdom.
  • The conventional wisdom has been that business actually makes a profit by causing a social problem.
  • Now, conventional wisdom would say that we'll just take these driver assistance systems and we'll kind of push them and incrementally improve them, and over time, they'll turn into self-driving cars.
  • The conventional wisdom is that the euro was the political price Germany paid for French acquiescence to its reunification.
  • If the conventional wisdom about nutrition had failed me, was it possible it was failing someone else?
  • And two, if we're willing to be wrong, if we're willing to challenge the conventional wisdom with the best experiments science can offer, we can solve this problem.
  • Scaling: Conventional wisdom says reduce cost by producing many.
  • And finally, human resources: Conventional wisdom says hire battery experts, seasoned professionals, who can draw upon their vast experience and knowledge.
  • Conventional wisdom says is forbidden to ask, but I am a shrink, so...
  • That's been the conventional wisdom.
  • No one at this point seriously believes that Iran is maintaining an active program to develop nuclear weapons, though not long ago it was almost conventional wisdom that the country was close to having them.
  • Right across the world, people are doing the unthinkable: they're slowing down, and finding that, although conventional wisdom tells you that if you slow down, you're road kill, the opposite turns out to be true:
  • And finally, human resources: Conventional wisdom says hire battery experts, seasoned professionals, who can draw upon their vast experience and knowledge.
  • This theory went strongly against conventional wisdom.
  • Two words guaranteed to repel any manner of mediocrity masquerading as conventional wisdom.
  • But it is when things seem "nice and clear" that investors should question conventional wisdom.
  • Now that finding flew in the face of conventional wisdom.

Alternatives:

  • common belief
  • accepted wisdom
  • popular belief
  • traditional belief
  • mainstream belief

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