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The next wave of popularity and interest in the image, created over a hundred years ago by Arthur Conan Doyle, is due to the success of the BBC series. It is the “next wave”, because since the appearance of such a character as Sherlock Holmes in 1887, his name has become akin to the concepts of “detective”, “logic”, “deduction” and is constantly mentioned. The directors of the series "Sherlock" perfectly transferred the famous detective to the present, but this is far from the only thing that fans of the genius of the search are happy about. Against the backdrop of the commercial triumph of the series and the slightly earlier released feature film, where Sherlock Holmes was played by B. Cumberbatch and R. Downey Jr., respectively, interest in the deduction method used by the consulting detective and the construction of logical reasoning in general increased.
Sometimes it is not entirely clear how a brilliant detective conducts an investigation and unravels secrets. Nevertheless, all his guesses and reflections are based on purely facts, from which Sherlock builds a logical chain, and she leads him to a solution. The skill, no doubt, is important, and it will be useful in life for people of many professions. In this regard, the question arises, is it possible to learn Holmes's deductive method? And the answer is in the affirmative, with the amendment that the character is fictional and much in him is exaggerated. But there is also an amendment to the amendment - a real person inspired A. Conan Doyle to create such a hero. His name was Joseph Bell, he was a professor at the University of Edinburgh and was famous for his ability to guess the character and past of a person from small details.
In the future, it will be clear from the article which laws of logic and other requirements for the process of thinking were applied by Sherlock Holmes, but for now let's deal with the categorical apparatus. The concept of deduction (lat. Deductio - deduction) means a method of thinking in which a particular position is logically derived from the general; a chain of inferences (reasoning), the links of which are connected by a logical consequence. Simply put, it is the acquisition of specific knowledge from the general. But those who are familiar with the basics of logic and have read the works of A. Conan Doyle will rightly pay attention to the fact that Sherlock probably did not go into terminology much, because from the point of view of science he used the inductive method. The fact is that induction is the opposite method of deduction, which is based on obtaining general knowledge based on a number of particulars. It was this that the detective used, first studying the evidence and all known data, and then drawing conclusions based on this. But in order not to upset the admirers of the detective's talent, let us note that Mr. Holmes himself, according to his own statement: "Throw away everything that is impossible, and what remains will be the answer, no matter how incredible it may seem," he nevertheless used the deductive method, so that the logic is formally followed.
Trusted Sherlock Holmes and his intuition. He said: “Sometimes it is much easier to understand something than to explain why I understand it. If you are asked to prove that twice two is four, you may experience some difficulty with it, but at the same time you are absolutely sure of it. "
To learn more about the requirements of logic to the thinking process, we recommend that you get acquainted with a special training on our website.
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Sometimes it is not entirely clear how a brilliant detective conducts an investigation and unravels secrets. Nevertheless, all his guesses and reflections are based on purely facts, from which Sherlock builds a logical chain, and she leads him to a solution. The skill, no doubt, is important, and it will be useful in life for people of many professions. In this regard, the question arises, is it possible to learn Holmes's deductive method? And the answer is in the affirmative, with the amendment that the character is fictional and much in him is exaggerated. But there is also an amendment to the amendment - a real person inspired A. Conan Doyle to create such a hero. His name was Joseph Bell, he was a professor at the University of Edinburgh and was famous for his ability to guess the character and past of a person from small details.
Scientific background
“What Sherlock Holmes is doing is interesting and exciting, and there is nothing scientific about it,” - so can say anyone who believes in the uniqueness of a detective. And it will be wrong. A well-known detective is comparable to a skilled chemist who shows the class an experiment, as a result of which something extraordinary happens. Unusual for everyone, but not for the chemist himself, who read stacks of books and practiced reagents hundreds of times in the laboratory. This is a clear example of how the complex things that science usually deals with can be quite simple and interesting for everyone. So, at the heart of the skills and abilities that Sherlock himself called the deductive method is the most boring science.In the future, it will be clear from the article which laws of logic and other requirements for the process of thinking were applied by Sherlock Holmes, but for now let's deal with the categorical apparatus. The concept of deduction (lat. Deductio - deduction) means a method of thinking in which a particular position is logically derived from the general; a chain of inferences (reasoning), the links of which are connected by a logical consequence. Simply put, it is the acquisition of specific knowledge from the general. But those who are familiar with the basics of logic and have read the works of A. Conan Doyle will rightly pay attention to the fact that Sherlock probably did not go into terminology much, because from the point of view of science he used the inductive method. The fact is that induction is the opposite method of deduction, which is based on obtaining general knowledge based on a number of particulars. It was this that the detective used, first studying the evidence and all known data, and then drawing conclusions based on this. But in order not to upset the admirers of the detective's talent, let us note that Mr. Holmes himself, according to his own statement: "Throw away everything that is impossible, and what remains will be the answer, no matter how incredible it may seem," he nevertheless used the deductive method, so that the logic is formally followed.
Trusted Sherlock Holmes and his intuition. He said: “Sometimes it is much easier to understand something than to explain why I understand it. If you are asked to prove that twice two is four, you may experience some difficulty with it, but at the same time you are absolutely sure of it. "
To learn more about the requirements of logic to the thinking process, we recommend that you get acquainted with a special training on our website.
Sherlock Holmes deduction
In "Study in crimson tones" Sherlock Holmes says: "All life is a huge chain of causes and effects, and we can know its nature by one link." This expression perfectly describes how the detective conducted the investigation. Undoubtedly, everything in life happens chaotically, and not according to a planned scenario (in the case of Sherlock - Conan Doyle), but even so, observation and other exceptional skills of a detective from Baker Street, everyone can try to develop. These skills and abilities are listed below.- Observation and details. Inspector Lestrade was often wrong because he didn’t pay enough attention to details or draw conclusions based on some of the most significant pieces of evidence. Sherlock Holmes, on the contrary, collected as much information as possible, analyzed all possible scenarios for the development of events and looked at them from different angles. This made it possible to discard insignificant options and, as a result, from the set, select several or one of the most significant ones, which the detective checked and ultimately solved the next riddle.
- Concentration. A detached face, unwillingness to answer questions and ignorance of people and events around - not a sign of a "bad" guy in Sherlock, as some of his fans would like to think. The fact is that, having taken up the investigation, Holmes begins to "live" completely by him. He is all the time focused on the solution, all the time thinking about options and solutions. The introvert in Sherlock Holmes is just a mode of work in which he is completely devoted to the cause, discarding what gets in the way.
- Interest and outlook. Remember how many types of tobacco ash Sherlock Holmes distinguished. And how skillfully he could determine from which part of England a person came from the particles of soil on the shoes. He was interested in literally everything, and many of those that pass by the attention of ordinary people. He was gifted and savvy in forensics, worked as a biochemist in a London hospital (at least at the time he met Dr. Watson, as mentioned in the "Study in crimson"). Sherlock played the violin and was well versed in music and opera, was familiar with several European languages and Latin, fenced and boxed well, and much more. And often this knowledge helped the detective in life and profession.
- The palaces of the mind. When dealing with huge amounts of information, you need to be able to memorize it and, if necessary, accumulate it. For this, Sherlock Holmes used the "palace of the mind" method. This is not his invention, because synonymous terms are known - "palace of memory", "road of Cicero". This method was known even by the ancient Greeks, and in addition to the genius of the detective craft, the villain Hannibal Lecter used it. The essence of the method is in the associative method of memorizing information, in which each image (information, fact, knowledge) is tied to a specific object in the room (room, house, palace). It sounds rather incomprehensible, so we advise you to read the detailed article on the topic at this link. We also recommend taking a training on the development of memory on our website.
- Sign language. In addition to being observant and analytical, Sherlock Holmes was an excellent psychologist. Often he was able to understand whether a person was lying just by observing his behavior. Understanding body language and behavioral patterns is important not only for identifying lies, but also for composing a picture of a person's habits and activities. To achieve at least minimal success in such practice, you just need to learn to notice details in people: habits, manner of speaking, dress.
- Intuition. It was said above that sometimes relying on intuition, in this or that choice, Sherlock Holmes in the end came to success. Here we must pay tribute rather not to the developed sixth sense, but to experience, which in some moments suggests how to do the right thing. Although the statements are rather contradictory, an example of which is a long discussion about the question of whether intuition and its nature exist, the conclusion can be made as follows - only you yourself can draw a fine line between a presentiment of how to act and the action itself.
- Practice. Sherlock Holmes himself compared his thinking to a train. He constantly practiced logic in everyday life, for the sake of entertainment, and not just when he was investigating a crime. This made it possible to "accelerate the train", to keep oneself constantly in good shape, and when a worthy task was tucked in, Sherlock's intermediate thoughts "flew at full steam."
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