Lowest Common Denominator

Here I am walking about the home thinking about the term “lowest common denominator.”  To gain some clarity on a matter and to think about it further, I often put things down and consider them.  Sometimes what I write initially contains sentences I do not later agree with.  I may have thought it to start with, or they may have been a seemingly clever way of putting things. But they go because I cannot say something that I cannot agree with.
I thought it may help to look up what was said on the web about “lowest common denominator”.  So much has to do with maths.  Makes sense really, as that is where the term comes from.
Further on it was talking about how I understand the term.  I was really surprised to see the sentence “The problem with so much television is that it is aimed at the lowest common denominator.”
For me there are a couple of ways of looking at it.  The lowest common denominator can be a good thing if the lowest is high.
Yet when it comes to associations, I need to remain vigilant that I don’t allow myself to be brought down to the lowest common denominator where that is low.  I have been there.  Trouble is, I could not see it.  That seems to me to be a common theme when associating with the lowest common denominator.  The situation when viewed objectively is all bad.  No one is being done any good.  The blind are leading the blind and both fall into a ditch.  Sometimes the director is not blind and leads me into a ditch intentionally.
It seems to me that some need to be particularly careful.  They have a caring heart but if that caring heart is not strong, they become the influenced rather than the influencer.  The thing is the slide can be insidious.  What may be rejected outright initially becomes acceptable by degrees.  It is not about rejecting another, it is about rejecting an influence that is bad for me.
It’s funny though, when it comes to speech, I am all for the lowest common denominator.  Where I have a choice of a big word or one that is more common, I will use the word that is more common.  My thinking is I want to be able to be understood by as many as possible.  I think the same reasoning applies to contracts that are being written in “simple English” these days.  Where the intention is not to confuse, then it seems to me the clearer it is stated the better.  I am a great believer in the K.I.S.S principle without the stupid.  I reckon keep it simple.  Period.
Having been used in maths the lowest common denominator came to be seen as an intelligence issue. To me it does not matter if someone is considered the brightest in the world or the dumbest.  Brightness to me is not measured by knowing stuff it is measured by applying common sense stuff.
There is no doubt though I can dig a hole for myself.  There may be dumb things I do that are a noose around my neck.  I know I need help.  There is no shame in asking for help.  The shame is in not asking.