Nous:
\ˈnau̇s\ chiefly British : common sense, alertness [Merriam-Webster]
Noted in “Losing the plot,” Colin Barras, NewScientist (26 August 2017, paywall):
Our species, Homo sapiens, is special. We have achieved things beyond the capacities of all others in our family tree. Even with their wanderlust, the ancient humans that came before us probably never made it to the Americas, let alone reaching for the moon, of course. Ancient human species never learned to write, or compose symphonies, nor did they develop the scientific nous to explore their own evolutionary roots.
