#How to think like Sherlock Holmes

[studies-in-the-art-of-deduction]

Deduction Tips #16

The size of a bag is indicative of how much a person needs to carry, and usually we prefer to carry less things. When you see someone with a bag (be it a backpack, a purse, or anything else) think about why this person needs a bigger one rather than a smaller one, and what that says about the contents of the bag and the situation of the person carrying it

[amateur-deductions]

When it comes to the observation weeks in the training program. Could you elaborate on why we shouldn’t deduce then? Is it only about the time when we are doing the exercises?

Hello! great question, i gotta say i didn't write that program, but i did follow it, so i can only give you an answer based on my experience with it and with deduction as a whole. Unfortunately L isn't available to give you the original reason, but if i get in contact with them i'll make a post with their answer.

So, there's this quote from Sherlock which sums up the reasoning behind this very clearly:

"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."

During this stage of the program it is assumed you're coming into deduction as a complete beginner, and therefore that you haven't honed your observation skills yet. This means you'll inevitably be at a point where if you try to deduce you'll be doing so while missing a large amount of information, and fall into the trap of not knowing you're missing information and trying to work with what you have, which leads to often taking big leaps in reasoning to reach conclusions, because you don't have enough data to work with.

This is also why when i teach people i make sure they're at an acceptable level in their observation skills before i move onto other stuff. Later on in the process you learn how to make the most out of a situation where you have little to no information to deduce from. But that's a bit too complicated for a beginner, so it's important that they don't try to deduce until they have a solid grasp on what information they can gather

Aditionally, the training program, as incomplete as it may be, attempts to separate the process of learning deduction into manageable chunks. That program was written during a time where the community was much bigger and everyone attempting to find some way of learning this skill. Everyone was coming up with solutions to their problems and sharing them in the community, and that program is an attempt to solve the overwhelming feeling that comes with trying to learn a massive skill with multiple possible points of entry. It segments it into manageable, organized chunks for people to have a neat way of getting started with deduction, and one of those chunks is just observation, since it's complex enough of a base skill to have its own section

[mewtwo365]

Thinkin about Great Ace Attorney so i re-did this meme with Herlock Sholmes!

Hope you enjoy this silly drawing, and have an AWESOME day!!

[noodles-and-tea]

Podcast John Watson, the man that you are

[b4kuch1n]

THEE audiodrama disguised as podcast

[illir]

an old comic from 2021 that i never posted here :)

william and sherlock got invited to a dinner as a thank you but the client's daughter kept playing with sherlock's hair and william couldn't stop laughing

[sygneth]

I think the main reason for my warm feelings towards Victor Trevor is, that he shaped the Holmes we know.

How long would it take him to figure out his profession if not for the "Gloria Scott" case? Without this idea planted in his head, would he still drop out of college? Where would we find him years later? A consulting detective, but with no career yet? A full-time chemist running analysis for the police? An inventor? Would he and Watson even meet?

The butterfly effect goes hard in my head and I cannot stop thinking about it.

[ryuusea]

「 With you 」 (always)

[an-actual-floof]

old detective men in LOVE ‼️🗣️

[abstract-personnel]

imagine getting framed by a car and your girlfriend, the detective on the case, doesn't believe you

[claudia-kishi]

It's not just for anyone, but I thought it was very you.

[studies-in-the-art-of-deduction]

Hi!!! How can deductions be used in day to day life, or like, usefully? And how have you made useful deductions? Sorry if that made little sense

Hi! I see you sent this question in the past two days, i'll gladly answer it, but in case you send any other questions in the future and i don't answer them as quickly i'll inform you that usually all the questions of the week are collected in my inbox and you'd get your answer on a Monday (this week i had some scheduling problems so i pushed it to Wednesday), so if you don't get as quick an answer next time just wait for Monday!

Now, regarding your question! There's many ways deduction can be used in daily life, sometimes it even depends on what you do for a living. For example i know psychologists and other healthcare profesionals have to rely on non verbal communication and information they gather from observation, along with what they're told, since patients can't be relied upon to be transparent and honest all the time, or even know what information is releant to share. In this case deduction can be massively useful.

On a more general note, it depends a lot on the type of relationships you have, i know people who use deduction to interact with their friends, it allows them to know when they're feeling upset or worried, and about what, and act accordingly, all without needing to do more than just glance at them. I know people who use deduction to navigate social situations because they're not good at interacting with people and having the extra information deduction provides helps. Personally i'm someone that introduces deduction into everything i do, from acquiring helpful knowledge when talking to superiors, to knowing what waiter is best to call over at my table cause they've gotten more hours of sleep.

I recommend you watch Sherlock, House M.D., The Mentalist, and all of these deduction heavy shows that sometimes showcase how these characters use their skills casually, it's really not much different than what you see there. If you want a blog that really goes into casual uses of dedduction i'd check out @froogboi 's blog, it's full of everyday life uses of deduction

[amateur-deductions]

Greetings @amateur-deductions

What are your Go-to advice for for those who start becoming a deductionist and just finished learning body language?

Appreciate Your reply

Bless you all and have a good day.

Hello! Sorry for the delay, i've been on a hiatus since Christmas.

So if you're coming from having learned body language already you have a bit of a head start compared to people that are starting fresh, since you probably have already learned to be more observant, to be constantly aware of things like body movements and facial expressions, and to intepret these things and process them as you take them in. I would say this means you can put a bit less time into the observation practices beginners usually have to go through, and you can dedicate more time to practicing reasoning and logical thinking

I would also say you have the option to approach deduction using your body language background. Something you start to realize as you get better at deduction is that everyone has cultivated different skills they use to extract information, some people use raw logic reasoning, some use extensive psychology knowledge, and some use extensive knowledge in body language and facial expressions, and there's nothing wrong with any of these methods, they're simply what you could understand as different "specialties".

So i would advice that you don't try to learn deduction as a separate discipline than body language, but rather use your body language knowledge, coupled with anything you learn in the field of deduction, to enhance your conclusions

This does come with a disclaimer though. Make sure that you're not leaning into your body language knowledge so much that you're avoiding doing the exercises and learning the methods that are core to deduction simply because body language provides an easier path, since you're well versed in that already

[taffy-glitch]

personally i think nagito komaeda should be in the public domain. not any other dr characters just him

[noodles-and-tea]

If you're still taking art requests for Sherlock and Co, then I'd like to see John doing the bisexual finger guns (I feel like he would)

Eyyyyy

[redrobin-detective]

Back to watching Elementary again, another aspect of the show I enjoy is Sherlock’s open adoration and appreciation of Watson both as a person and a fellow detective. I think that’s something that has been lost in a lot of Holmes adaptions - started mainly by the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce movies - of Watson being a comedic foil to Holmes, an inept bungler that Sherlock puts up with.

I feel like even in adaptions that have Holmes/Watson having a good relationship, there is this sense of exasperation coming from Holmes about some of Watson’s behaviors (BBC and RDJ come to mind). In Elementary, once Sherlock accepts and embraces his love for Watson, he never really backs down from it. We rarely see him frustrated with her, and if so it’s because of her actions not personality clashes. He knows he’s weird and obnoxious and adapts to Watson’s habits without making a big eye rolling deal out of it.