Why learning to think like Sherlock Holmes is more than just for solving crimes?
Sherlock Holmes is perhaps the most loved fictional character there ever is. His art of solving some of the most difficult crimes has been depicted beautifully by the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downing Jr. But what is Sherlock Holmes' real secret to solving all his crimes? I read the book Mastermind by Maria Konnikova where she breaks down the Holmesian methodology to every case. And what I have come to realise is that one of Holmes' superpowers is...... Watson? We may not all have a Watson in our lives, but below are five things I learnt to apply in my daily life.
Read things out loud: Saying things out loud helps provide more clarity. Whenever Holmes had a theory, he would always run it past Watson (Watson never really had much to add to it). Saying things out loud made him pick up the flaws much more easily and helped streamline his thought process. So what could we learn from this?
I have started reading all the emails I draft out loud before I hit send, and believe me, you end up with a much better draft than when simply silently reading it in your head. Have a presentation? Rehearse it loud!
Getting mindful in your day to day activities: It's when we carry out the routine and mundane activities mindlessly over a period of time that we notice our performance drops down to a certain degree. This is linked to the first point I mentioned above. Holmes' would also run his theories past Watson and in doing so making sure that each piece of evidence was given equal importance and not letting his 'gut feeling' take over.
I was teaching my son, how to brush his teeth. And on teaching him did I realise my flaws and how far away I am from brushing for the recommended 2 minutes. I have been doing it mindlessly for ages and obviously haven't been brushing properly. Even at work, when we have done the same activities multiple times, running the steps in our head can help us not only drop down our error rates but also make sure we improve on them
Paying attention is anything but elementary: Holmes' was so focused when he would look through the evidence of a crime. He looked at the evidence and framed his theories out loud. He would go on talking and not realise that Watson had left the room. Such was his focus.
It is only when we cut out all the noise, do we enter into the mode of 'Deep Work'. I have been putting my phone on DND, disabling notifications on my phone and find that it helps one become far more efficient in their work.
Multitasking was something Holmes' never did and we shouldn't start either.
Taking a break for ideas: In an age where we are constantly jumping from one meeting to another, we forget the pause before we dive into action. Holmes' would do this very subtly. It could be in the form of smoking his pipe, listening to music or having a chat with Watson. It's that brief pause that helped him refresh and look at things from a whole new perspective. Whether it’s stepping back for a few minutes, going for a short walk or just doing something in a completely different tangent from what you are currently working on, will help open up new ideas. A simple change in location affects our thought. It cues us to think differently,
Deduce only from what you have observed and nothing more: In the Holmes story 'The adventure of priory school', a valuable pupil goes missing from the boarding school along with the German teacher. The German teacher's cycle is missing from the shed and it seems like he left in a hurry. Of course, he was an accomplice in the kidnapping. This double disappearance has to be more than just a coincidence.
The human mind is wired to form its imaginative narrative. Our imagination can run wild when we see few pieces of evidence which stick together. It turns out that the German master had nothing to do with the kidnapping of the pupil.
Learning to step back and look at each situation for the way it is and not let our past experiences or biases have a role in our decision making is easier said than done. But taking that very critical pause and looking at things from a holistic view can help us get a step closer.
"Education never ends. It is a series of lessons for the greatest at the last."- Sherlock Holmes
The Mastermind by Maria Konnikova is a fascinating read. More about it here.