You are what you read. Stuff yourself with poetry, short stories, comic strips, novels, and scripts, and you leave yourself always full of wonderful literature and you’re never hungry. That is why I am trying to ingrain the habit of reading good literature right before I go to bed, and I had the great pleasure of stepping into the foggy, murky and sullen streets of Victoria’s London, riddled with frightful criminals and petty pickpockets, to be eradicated by the brilliant and erratic consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. I have just recently finished the short story of my favourite novel book character, Sherlock Holmes, after his return from the dreaded Reichenbach Falls.
I’m pretty sure most members of society are familiar with the infamous story of Sherlock Holmes and his adventure of the dancing men, at first seeming to be mere childish scrawls that instead, when more deeply analyzed, hides a most sinister message locked in code. It’s a race against time to find the mysterious messenger and to prevent the devastating tragedy that Sherlock anxiously foresees. Of course, theories are to be built to be formed by facts, and not to have facts twisted to fit theories, and thus indulges very little of his thoughts and conclusions until he sees it best fit to reveal them, even from his dear chronicler, Dr. Watson.
However, the popular recollection of this short story is only of the dancing men. Much like Sherlock Holmes, what one can only deduce from what is heard cannot be sufficient to make judgments upon until one reads into the full story. Solving the code of the dancing men is only a part of the incredible and “absurdly simple” deductions Sherlock Holmes makes, and which fascinates me is that, either you or I could are completely capable of doing the same. Seriously.
Before Mr. Hilton Cubitt of Riding Thorpe Manor, Norfolk, a ruddy, clean shaven man with the clear eyes that one develops when living by a bracing east coastline, proposing the odd conundrum to Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson have a quaint conversation. Sherlock Holmes intrudes into Watson’s most intimate thoughts of investing in South African securities. How is there any connection speculates Watson, being utterly taken aback? Simplified, Sherlock Holmes observes chalk on Watson’s finger, and constructs a series of inferences. Watson has chalk on his finger because he uses chalk to steady the cue when he plays billiards. Watson only plays with a fellow named Thurston. Watson had last week told Sherlock Holmes that Thurston had an option on South African property, expiring in a month, and he wanted to share it with Watson. Watson’s check book in locked in Sherlock Holmes’ drawer, and had not asked Holmes for the key. Thus, the conclusion? Watson did not intend to invest his money in this manner. Just simply knock out all the central inferences and provide the beginning and end inferences and you produce a rather startling effect.
In one rare instance, I had similarly produced the same effect of surprise from a good friend. Upon visiting the friend, I had noticed that two WorldSkills Calgary 2009 bags sat on the couch and had passively made the observation that their parents had been to the WorldSkills Competition. My friend had produced a gasp in awe and doggedly asked how I knew. I figured that first of all, since they had been sick the week of the WorldSkills Competition, they were not able to attend. Second, I had not heard of my friend attending any other WorldSkills Competition day other than the day they were with me. Thirdly, a family member must of have most likely been to the WorldSkills Competition to have attained those bags. So the conclusion? Their parents had attended the WorldSkills Competition, roaming around long enough to find those bags. Childish and absurdly simple when I explained my train of thought to my friend, but simply astounding when pulling conclusions out of seemly thin air.
I recommend for first time readers of the Sherlock Holmes stories to read the first one, ” A Study in Scarlet,” I’m positive you’ll be hooked!
