Sensibility and sensitivity are often confused or used interchangeably. This is a gross misconception. To say they are the same is a sensitive observation but not a sensible one at all.

Some definitions

Sensitivity marks an increased receptiveness to external stimuli. It may often be associated with fragility or even lack of logic or rationality. It may lead to erratic behavior in an otherwise normal environment or under stable conditions. Whilst sometimes appealing due to its dramatic or comedic effect, more often than not it’s annoying or dangerous.

I assume most of you don’t have such a negative perception about sensitivity, in large part because you associate it with the positive traits of sensibility.

Sensibility is a much more complex concept. It could be described as an exceptional ability to judge a situation, due to a keen awareness to external stimuli.

Sensibility, in most cases, is a desirable trait. It allows for a closer analysis of a situation, for making faster decisions and for spotting things that may otherwise go unnoticed.

Sensibility in a system

It’s obvious that sensibility is closely related to sensitivity. The former can’t exist without the latter. The reverse, however, isn’t always true.

The problem with being sensitive is that it often leads to accentuated responses to the most mundane and easy-to-detect events.

The overwhelming reactions caused by an abundant amount of sensitivity, will not allow for the careful analysis and observation that sensibility provides.

Often enough sensitivity can turn into sensibility when placed under certain circumstances. It is my belief that one should strive to enlarge the range encompassing those circumstances.

Aim for sensibility whilst avoiding sensitivity.

I believe this to be one of the most important lessons I’ve learned for designing the error handling and logging of my software.

The only thing more annoying than a silent crash, is greping through thousands of lines of logs to determine what caused the crash.

What I love most about this rhetoric is that it can be equally valid in many fields, be its subject humans or machine.

P.S.

I was tempted to make certain analogies.

The cat hearing every footstep of the mouse whilst ignoring the rumbling of the train.

The homing pigeon that senses the magnetic pole of the Earth despite being almost oblivious to the cruel winds.

The well-crafted Geiger counter’s ability to swiftly detect the tiniest amount of change in background radiation, despite its ineptitude in differentiating between a reactor chamber in the middle of a meltdown and a large quantity of Uranium glass.

However, I think most readers are sensible enough not to need this kind of cheesy parable to understand the concept.

P.P.S.

This whole hypothesis does relay upon using sensibility as being the noun derived from sensible. However, due to it often being used as a synonymous for sensitivity, I feel like that may not be as obvious as I’d intended it to be.

It might have been the sensible thing to explain this first and foremost, but it would have ruined the pace.