Sherlock Holmes is a master, a pro at thinking. He's a consulting detective with an uncanny way of observation. And he's a fictional character that revolutionized the world. In many real-life ways, we can take lessons from him and learn them ourselves. But first.. let's correct any misconceptions. Just to get it all out of the way. Did you know that Sherlock Holmes never wore the famous calabash pipe, deerstalker hat, or Inverness cape? And that he was not the first one to say, “Elementary, my dear Watson?” That was created by PG Wodehouse in a parody written for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who wrote the actual stories. In the stories, the pipe, hat, and cape were never mentioned, and the violin Sherlock is known to be obsessed with is only played in eight stories out of sixty. The infamous drug “habit” is also overdone in the various movies and TV shows over the centuries, as it was only directly shown in two cases and not very troubling or severe. Aside from these common misconceptions, surely you are familiar with the name Sherlock Holmes, knowing who he was even before you knew who the author was. Holmes is a household name known all around the world for his ingenious skills and arrogant intelligence which he uses in all sorts of crazy situations. Being as world-famous now as he was even in the 1890s-1900s when the books were first written, his character has been adapted to the screen two-hundred and ninety-two times. He is the most played-character except for Dracula, who was played over four-hundred times. Thousands of people have read the books, and still thousands more have watched at least one of the adaptations to screen, most likely the BBC TV show version with Benedict Cumberbatch. There are even many clubs that host conferences about Sherlock as if he were real. Why is this? He is uncannily famous because of his personality quirks and superhuman ability to solve puzzles no one else can, and his faithful assistant Watson compiling the records of the great puzzle-solving powers at his side. Sherlock certainly had an amazing power; but can we learn it too? The answer is yes. 1.) Build a Knowledge Base The first challenge to train your brain in this “boot camp” is to build up your brain and the knowledge inside. Both learning new things and new skills to awaken and exercise your brain can help in real life, deduction, and critical thinking. One example is learning new languages to keep your brain active and possibly help in communicating, translating, or solving cases. Playing an instrument, as Sherlock did with the violin, is scientifically proven to be beneficial to boost your thinking skills, memory ability, and brain development. Also, Sherlock had good knowledge of Latin, German, and French which was helpful when he translated a Roman literature in “A Study in Scarlet.” Learning new skills for your body may help you down the road in solving cases as well. When Sherlock defeated Moriarty in “The Return of Sherlock Holmes,” he used his “some knowledge of baritsu, or the Japanese form of martial arts.” Training in physical activity as well as mental is healthy and pays off in the long run. Another way to build up your knowledge base is simply to read. Although Sherlock had a principle of not reading anything he could not use, he still read widely about beekeeping, botany (not practical gardening), geology, politics, law, and sensational literature. He also read the news and agony columns in the newspaper to stock up on the current events in case he was presented with a case that corresponded. Criminal cases, physiology, religion and philosophy, and various other types of books were also on his bookshelf. He also wrote; In "The Musgrave Ritual" it mentions he had a “commonplace” book where he recorded many things he might later need, and of course he always compiled the facts of his cases. Many a time in the stories he is reading back on his seemingly random recordings and searching for connections, which he usually found. For even more information and hands-on work, he did chemistry experiments which was what he was doing when he and Dr. John Watson first met. He also must have read many popular books and religious books, even the Bible, as he often quotes such lines while on his many adventures. He definitely needed a proficient and effective memory, although he did go extreme on this principle, leaving feelings and people out of it while only keeping facts stored in his brain. He was extra careful on what he took into his knowledge base. “A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across,” Holmes says to Watson, “so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out…so that he has difficulty in laying his hands on it. Now the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain attic.” While leaving concepts such as friendship or love out of your brain completely is not recommended, a great knowledge base does need to be built up carefully and remembered precisely. Memory techniques are a great way to remember that knowledge you have learned and gain almost superhuman “powers” that you never thought you could have, even if you were not born a genius. Contrary to popular belief, IQ’s can actually change. There are many such things like mind maps and memory palaces that mentally walk through after you connect to the things you want to memorize. Be curious! Practice the skills of building a knowledge base, and then move onto the next step. 2.) Observe the Right Knowledge Sherlock does not just know knowledge, but he figures out the right knowledge. When he goes out on adventures, he observes what is essential and connects the right dots. It is not that he sees more than anyone else, it is just that he sees what is important. He has the knowledge base, and then proceeds to use it to gain even more knowledge and observe the right clues everyone else might overlook. That is the key. A way to do this is practice it in your daily life by starting to see the details. See what is true and real and important but work yourself into it by taking notes, slowing down, giving yourself challenges. Do what is hard for you. Take one interesting picture a day, study one piece of art, or analyze a section of literature. Start critical thinking. Get rid of bad habits like not noticing anything, not glazing through life like a lethargic noodle, but start to really see. Someday you will know what to look for, thus knowing what is normal in your surroundings so you can notice what is out of place. Another fictional detective named Hercule Poirot explains this. He sees patterns in every crime, and has built up his knowledge base so he can notice these. It is a lot easier to solve the crimes now because he notices the general pattern of it all. Sherlock has done this so often he has a pattern and a method for what he is doing. 3.) Deduct the Knowledge Be critical! Sherlock knows, Sherlock sees, then Sherlock puts it all together. He takes the information he knows, the important information of course, and come up with a possible explanation for the strange happening. Sherlock Holmes is a great deducter of knowledge and uses his amazing ability to know and see to now critical think. He comes up with plausible explanations and figures out the right one. In fact, he said himself that if he were a villain, London would be in trouble.
“Sherlock Holmes is the grandfather of forensic science. Today, when I go to a crime scene I use his logic, his method of deduction…” said Dr. Henry Lee, a forensic scientist. Sherlock Holmes has not only changed the world of media and entertainment, but he has changed the world of crime scenes as well. Many detectives today, such as Dr. Henry Lee, use his methods for good. “Observe carefully, deduce shrewdly, and confirm with evidence.” - Joseph Bell You can use these concepts in many ways, and one of them includes writing, A writer called Daeus shows how you can write better descriptions by analyzing Sherlock, on an amazing website called the Kingdom Pen. Your whole life can be improved to the rest of your days by these methods. To think and thus act like Sherlock, we need to build up knowledge, open our eyes to see the right knowledge, and use that knowledge to think logically and solve the problem. So whether you have an assistant or not, come come! It is time to go out and solve the case.
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about the authorAs a 21 year old aspiring teacher, Karissa loves to write, travel, play piano, and read. Many creative things have her heart. archives
November 2021
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