Sherlock Holmes

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“The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes,” states Sherlock Holmes (Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles loc 1238). According to TV Tropes, mystery is a genre of fiction where the plot revolves a mysterious happening that acts as the driving question. With any given problem there is a solution; however, and the question is “how does one come about to that solution”? Extremely high intelligence level, keen observation, creative imagination and sensitivity to details are just some of the qualities that Holmes possesses. In the process of solving mysteries, there is always a borderline between mere guessing, a coincidence, and a scientific approach that Holmes calls deductive reasoning. In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1902 novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Dr. Mortimer seeks advice from Holmes as he explains the curse that has been plaguing the Baskerville family. With the power of deduction, Holmes realizes that Mr. Stapleton is actually a Baskerville descendant and has been planning to get rid of the other members of the family to claim the family fortune. Conan Doyle tells the reader what their mind is capable of doing by incorporating Holmes through his novels as he uses observation, deduction and knowledge in solving his cases. One important key that makes him different from most people is that he sees everything that people often neglect to pay attention to. A remarkable proof which shows that Holmes holds an extraordinary analytical mind and is uniquely capable of solving a mystery through his great sensitivity to minute details and the ability to draw connections from it was shown as he observes and deduces information from the letter received by Sir Henry Baskerville the moment he arrived...

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...erlock Holmes. “It’s not an easy task, that constant cognitive vigilance, the eternal awareness of our own limitations and the resulting strategic allocation of attention” (Konnikova, "Do You See like Dr. Watson or Observe like Sherlock Holmes"). It is not easy for some people to think just like him but it is something that can be acquired by constant practice and dedication. Holmes teaches us how to be mindful to our surroundings and apply it in our lives. He also shows us how to make great connections about the things that we see and the things that we know already and from there deduce the possible cause. The use of deductive reasoning as a convention is crucial because not all readers possesses extraordinary intellect like Holmes but as we, the readers go through the novel, learn to expand these abilities ourselves and learn to apply them in our everyday lives.

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