#thescienceofdeductionsh

[thescienceofdeductionsh]

MOST RECENT UPDATE

This is John Watson.

Rest assured Sherlock has not abandoned this blog. We both have just been very busy with casework.

I would like to leave you all with something more substantial, but all I can say is he will try to get back to posting before the year is up, and if not, then the beginning of next year.

My sincerest apologies to you all on behalf of Sherlock.

JW

[thescienceofdeductionsh]

Poll

It has been 6 years since this blog was first created. Its purpose has been a refuge, a place for me to get away from the mediocrity of daily life and communicate with some of the intelligent people that humanity has to offer. It has been a privilege watching your knowledge of deduction grow these past years, and as we are approaching the medial of the new year, I think it is time that this blog took a different direction.

Instead of filling this blog with whatever comes to mind, I am creating a poll to query all of you who follow this blog, as well as anyone else who happens to come across this post, about the future content that you want to see here.

Some possibilities include:

1. Daily crime (where I walk you through a step by step detailing of unsolved crimes and how they were most likely committed.)

2. Cryptographic analysis (I post the latest ciphers that I either cannot be bothered to solve or don’t want to).

3. Mind Palace construction (I teach you how to construct your own mind palace, and share a few techniques of my own when it comes to maintaining and retrieving information.)

4. Deduction Help (send in your questions. They can be about anything relating to deduction and I will answer as many as I can.)

5. Photographic analysis (if you happened to capture evidence of something confusing, or you found the unexplainable, send it this way and my readers will help you sort out whatever it is.)

6. Forgotten Cases (I receive hundreds of cases daily, so it is possible for some to become buried and forgotten. If you have a case that was never solved and you still need help with, send it to my inbox here instead of the one on my professional co-uk blog. Any case that I find is beneath my abilities to solve, I will post to this blog for my readers to attempt.)

7. LiveQ&A (no questions about sexual orientation or romantic/sexual preferences will be answered. Keep your questions clean, concise, and to the point).

Voting will be closed by the end of April.

Leave a comment with the number associated with your choice. You may choose more than one option, if you wish. The option(s) with the most votes by the end of the month will be the chosen content for the blog.

[thescienceofdeductionsh]

UPDATE

There’s been a lot of new developments and obligations lately, but I will be back in full form on the 1st of November. I will be announcing the results of the poll on that day and creating new content accordingly. Thank you for your patience.

P.S. John didn’t write this.

[thescienceofdeductionsh]

An anonymous client sent me this image. Apparently they received an envelope this morning containing the contents of burnt gingerbread men, and think it has something to do with Moriarty. To all who are reading this, James Moriarty is dead. Trust me, I would know if he were alive. What we have here is likely nothing more than a prank or a statement of some sort. I’ve instructed them to remain cautious and to interact with only close family and friends for the time being as a precaution, but they are probably in no real danger. Certainly not from the late James Moriarty. SH

[thescienceofdeductionsh]

Bookshelf

I would apologize for the long wait, that is, if it were not intentional.

Continuing with the plethora of perpetual puzzles, accurately deduce what you can about this image in one minute or less and send your findings to my inbox, not the comments. (don’t use my primary ask page for this because it needs to be fixed) You can start your minute at a time that’s most convenient to you, but the contest will be closed after about a week. The most accurate deduction wins and will be announced here same as last time.

As I said before, be prepared for this one. I am testing more than your deduction abilities. 

SH

[thescienceofdeductionsh]

Bedroom Desk Deduction- Answers

The winner for this round is hannibal-h-holmes!—Your deductions were the most accurate and tried my patience the least.

Now, with no contact from the owner, I have written my own deductions for the image. Keep in mind that only the most important deductions are listed below.

The occupant is likely right handed but could also be left handed- and the pens were purposefully moved as an added challenge. She was born into an upper-class family, is a young teen of about 16 or 17; going by the childhood photo of her and her sister who was at least 5 years old, making her about 7 years old at the time. There is also another picture behind it which could be a cousin or even another sister, but pondering on this too long isn't a lofty idea. The two objects bearing the insignia of the British flag, and what appears to be English currency on the table, mean that she lives in England. The GCSE school book of science and chemistry is also an indication of her age, as well as her nationality. During year 9 (ages 13-14) students choose what subjects they want to study, but in this case, I believe that those years have passed and she is now studying for the GCSE exams which take place around ages 10-16. This holds true for the subject of chemistry and the many sheets of paper that she will be using as flashcards on the left. Now, the two golden trophies are first place prizes. The one in the shape of a trouble clef is an award given for a top musical achievement which is likely involving a musical instrument of some sort, the standard trophy is likely a sports achievement, considering the dark-framed framed photograph below is depicting what appears to be a lacrosse team photo at the end of the school year, as the particular uniforms are not proper for many other sports and their posture rules out many other similar possibilities.

SH

[thescienceofdeductionsh]

The Game of Deduction

The Game of Deduction has begun... You have one minute to deduce as much as you can about the image below.

The winner will be chosen by their accuracy, most of all.

SH

[thescienceofdeductionsh]

Body of Water

This image was submitted by dreamycloud1

Accurately deduce what you can about the image in one minute or less and send your findings to my inbox, not the comments. You can start your minute at a time that’s most convenient to you, but the contest will be closed after about a week. The most accurate deduction wins and will be announced here same as last time.

SH

[thescienceofdeductionsh]

To start our next game, I ask everyone here to send in pictures. They can be of people, houses, plants, garden equipment, your employer, etc. Just make sure you don't send in low resolution images and obviously don't send me pornography of any kind. Those who do will find themselves blocked forever. SH

[thescienceofdeductionsh]

Announcement:

A lot of new faces have joined our quaint band of misfits. I have decided to test both their mettle and the rest of you by a series of deduction challenges. As in the real world, you will each have 1 minute to solve the challenges presented, but you can choose to start your allotted time when you want. SH

[thescienceofdeductionsh]

Run!

Your immediate instinct is to run, but armed with the knowledge of your deductions, you suppress the urge and politely decline his offer; mentioning a medical issue that requires a lot of exercise per day.

He gradually accepts your resignation and starts to slowly walk away, but you know his next move. Without hesitation, you take off and run down the road, only, the curtain hasn’t closed just yet.

You hear a set of hard and quick footsteps behind you and don’t need to check to be sure of who is following you.

You have to lose him somehow.

Recalling your small mental map of London, you try to remember the route to any place you can suitably disappear.

So far, you are within running distance of the River Thames, but you need to reach Scotland Yard.

–You may use google maps and Wikipedia to plot out your next routes.

SH

[thescienceofdeductionsh]

MOTW Answer:

Your immediate inference is that the woman died a few hours ago. Can any of you incompetent people at least tell me why?

[thescienceofdeductionsh]

Mystery Of The Week

A woman is found dead with apparent bruising under her skin, wearing no clothes and a wedding band. What is your immediate inference? 1. Raped 2. Killed in sleep. 3. Spousal Murder. 4. Other.

[thescienceofdeductionsh]

Update

John and I were dealing with a murderous dentist over the weekend. Be careful who you let examine your teeth. On a different note, I've recently broken my toe which means no cases for a while but blog updates are now possible. You can expect the next segment of the GOW within the day or night, varying on your time zones.

[thescienceofdeductionsh]

A bit of a snag...

The title is the context.

[thescienceofdeductionsh]

Happy 4th!

It is here. AGOD is now four years old. Granted, it’s old enough to go to primary school, but not enough to make wise decisions about its future. Quite a predicament, I know.

 But this is where I come in. 

Many of you know that I’ve co-owned this blog for a short amount of time, and I know a few of you remember my debut: “Locked-Room Mystery.” That being said, I realize that I’ve only been a part of this account for almost a year and a half, but it hasn’t been entirely unpleasant and most of you, I should say, are not a bad lot to have as a following. I'll even push myself to say that it’s almost been enjoyable. Almost.  

Now it’s rather late here, but before I bid you all goodnight I want you all to keep in mind that I have every intention of making good use of the many years to come. 

—Sherlock Holmes