Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Trust in The Facts, Not Your Version of Them
When we look around us, what is it that we see? Do we see things as they are, or do we at once, without thinking, begin to interpret? Take the simple example of a wine glass.
Literally Psyched
Conceived in literature, tested in psychology
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Don’t Decide Before You Decide
When we make a decision, we are, in fact, deciding. It’s plain common sense. The definition of a decision. A tautology if ever there was one.
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Breadth of Knowledge Is Essential
Once upon a time, Sherlock Holmes urged us to maintain a crisp and clean brain attic: out with the useless junk; in with meticulously organized boxes that are uncluttered by useless paraphernalia...
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Don’t Tangle Two Lines of Thought
Holmes often faults the hapless Watson–and many others who come under his exacting gaze–for a failure to use proper logic. But his admonishments often remain general, noting an overall failure to demonstrate the requisite logical finesse without necessarily taking the time to point out where exactly the reasoner went wrong...
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: The Power of Public Opinion
I’d like to continue today with the tale of the “Copper Beeches” that we left off last time. The exchange between Holmes and Watson on the nature of country houses does not end with the initial dialogue...
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: The Situation Is in the Mindset of the Observer
Do we all experience the world in the same way? Is the same event actually the same event when viewed from the vantage point of each observer, each participant, each accidental onlooker?...
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Confidence Is Good; Overconfidence, Not So Much
Confidence in ourselves and in our skills allows us to push our limits, achieve more than we otherwise would, try even in those borderline cases where a less confident person would bow out...
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Imagination
It’s easy to see Sherlock Holmes as a hard, cold reasoning machine: the epitome of calculating logic. And it’s true. In many ways, the ideal Holmes is almost a precursor to the computer, taking in countless data points as a matter of course, analyzing them with startling precision, and spitting out a solution...
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Perspective Is Everything, Details Alone Are Nothing
Details are important, often crucial. But focus exclusively on the details, without taking a step back, and you run the risk of getting lost in minutiae – and more likely than not, of missing any actual importance the details might contain...
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Cultivate What You Know to Optimize How You Decide
Today’s lesson from Sherlock Holmes deals with learning to cull and to cultivate knowledge in such a way that your decision process will be optimized for the question at hand, and not get bogged down in irrelevant minutiae – a lesson that is all too relevant in the age of the internet, when we have [...]..
Blog Index
@ScientificAmerican
STAFFBehind the scenes at Scientific American
Read
Anecdotes from the Archive
STAFF
Read
Anthropology in Practice
Exploring the human condition.
Read
Beautiful Minds
Insights into intelligence, creativity, personality, and well-being
Read
Budding Scientist
Everything you always wanted to know about raising science-literate kids
Read
Cross-Check
Critical views of science in the news
Read
Dark Star Diaries
STAFF
Read
Dog Spies
Explore the science behind the dog in your bed
Read
Extinction Countdown
News and research about endangered species from around the world
Read
Eye of the Storm
The Science Behind Extreme Weather
Read
Frontiers for Young Minds
Science by and for kids ages 8-15
Read
Guest Blog
Commentary invited by editors of Scientific American
Read
Hot Planet
Climate science in a changing world
Read
Illusion Chasers
Illusions, Delusions, and Everyday Deceptions
Read
Life, Unbounded
Discussion and news about planets, exoplanets, and astrobiology
Read
Observations
Opinion, arguments & analyses from guest experts and from the editors of Scientific American
Read
Roots of Unity
Mathematics: learning it, doing it, celebrating it.
Read
Rosetta Stones
Adventures in the good science of rock-breaking.
Read
SA Visual
STAFFIllustrating science since 1845
Read
Talking back
STAFFA science blog, sans blague
Read
The Artful Amoeba
A Blog About the Weird Wonderfulness of Life on Earth
Read
Voices
Exploring and celebrating diversity in science.
Read
