Alfonso 1 Michelle Coleen S. Alfonso Dr.

Lynda Haas Writing 37 13 February 2014 The Power of Deduction 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 around 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 draw connections from it was shown as he observes and deduces

Alfonso 2 information from the letter received by Sir Henry Baskerville the moment he arrived in which others are incapable of doing. Although Holmess base method of crime-solving can be frustrating to understand, he is always a step ahead of everyone no matter what. A significant factor that differentiates Sherlock Holmes from any other individual is his application of science in solving and unraveling his cases. He refuses to believe anything that is not proven scientifically true. In the novel, Holmes states that one must eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth (Doyle, The Sign of the Four loc 87). As he is given information regarding the crime, he observes and investigates all the possibilities of why it happened and narrows it down by keeping the ones that are strongly supported with evidences. Here, the process of deduction is being applied by striking out the possible options that do not match the clues and whichever is left, no matter how impossible it may seem, is nothing but the truth. The first technique Holmes applies to the investigation is his keen observation to minute details. An example of this is shown when he examines the letter sent to Sir Henry right after he arrived at the Northumberland Hotel. As you value your life or your reason keep away from the moor. The word "moor" only was printed in ink (Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles loc 235). It seems like it is just a regular letter for everyone but with Holmess great mind, he noticed that the word moor is the only one that is hand-written. The fact that it is written like that serves as the driving question for Holmes to further his study about it. Most of us often oversee obvious clues that can be really helpful in solving any of our problems. While everyone is just blinded with all the available hints and indications around them, Holmes takes everything in, analyzes them and applies scientific knowledge into it.

Alfonso 3 The next thing Holmes does is the application of his prior knowledge about the facts that he have gathered. Even so, one should keep in mind that it is not the amount of information that matters, but the relevance of it regarding the case. Simultaneously, Holmes says that The person who had cut and pasted the words had used that Times article and as well as Whoever cut the words did so with nail scissors and that person is either purposely trying to paste the words messily or was rushing (Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles loc 235). In here, with the help of his background knowledge about social statuses of people during that time, he knows right away that the writer of the letter is from the higher class because only the upper class people reads and uses that kind of newspaper. Since the penmanship contained in the letter is sloppy, a normal person would assume that the writer is someone who is uneducated and does not possess basic writing fundamentals and just ignore the other possibility that they are just trying to disguise their identity. On the other hand, Holmes points out the inconsistency of the pen marking used which only leads to one possible reason; that the pen used is of the low quality kind and is usually used at hotels and the like. When you have eliminated all the impossible, whatever remains, HOWEVER IMPROBABLE, must be the truth (Doyle, The Sign on the Four loc 531). This only shows that his deductive reasoning skill enables him to eliminate the choices that does not connect to the facts that he already have based from his knowledge about writing, types of penmanship and social statuses of people during that time. Establishing a wide range of information is always a great way to start thinking like Sherlock Holmes. Being mindful of his surroundings all the time, Holmes is always a step ahead of everyone. Having the ability to quickly respond to a situation and come up with an answer why it happened has always been a piece of cake to Sherlock Holmes. Its not an easy task, that constant cognitive vigilance, the eternal awareness of our own limitations and the resulting

Alfonso 4 strategic allocation of attention (Konnikova, "Do You See like Dr. Watson or Observe like Sherlock Holmes"). It is not easy to think just like him but it is something that can be acquired through constant practice and strong dedication. Holmes teaches us how to be mindful of 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 already know 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, can learn how to expand these abilities ourselves and learn to apply them in our everyday lives.

Alfonso 5 Works Cited "Do You See Like Dr. Watson or Observe Like Sherlock Holmes?" Slate Magazine. N.p., 03 Jan. 2013. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. Higher Read LLC. N.p.: n.p., 2013. The Hound of the Baskervilles Read It and Know It Edition. Higher Read, LLC. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. "Mystery Fiction." Tvtropes.org. TV Tropes, n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2014. "Sherlock's Eyes Never Lie." Web log post. The Art of Deduction. N.p., 16 Jan. 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. The Sign of the Four. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Kindle Edition. Web.