Claudia Srban

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The Sherlock Mind

In the following, I will try to show to what extent Sherlock Holmess mind is a new mind,
different from any other mechanism of thoughts that we have met in TV series. The modern
Sherlock TV series of Mark Gattis and Steven Moffat, who revived the famous detective of
Arthur Conan Doyle, presents a mind, a palace where challenges are the most welcomed
guests, where witticism is at its best, and speed, imagination, knowledge assist it. This new
mind wouldnt be a possibility if there wasnt for the context where Sherlock is placed, the
twentieth first century, an era of high technology and science, accessible to everyone. The
Sherlock Mind startles, shocks; it is surprising, like the unknown path of a traveller in a strange
place. It surpasses the boundaries, freeing itself from the patterns.
Sherlock TV series, appeared in 2010 at BBC, is an unexpected perspective on the old
Sherlock Holmes, created by Arthur Conan Doyle. We may expect the image change, for
literature is not literature anymore, but television became the literature that people read, watch,
hear, as Allyson Willoughby affirmed. This new facet turns the characters from books in modern
televised figures, adapting them to contemporary world, with all its improvements, problems,
development, technologized way of life. Mark Gattis Sherlock is constructed to fit in a London
of today, knowing a lot about its past, but uninterested in predicting its future.
Sherlock is a man of action and discussions about his mind would be expected to occupy
a small place of our attention. But behind all his come-and-go movements to solve the crimes in
London stays his brilliant mind, which doesnt care about anything except the challenge. The
detective has a mind that connects places and people, information and sensations, things and
animals, chemistry and maths like a living network, breathing in the air of thinking. This is
considered the only valuable, unexploited resource that a human being can have, from Sherlocks
point of view. Sometime, or many times, we may consider him a bloody arrogant detective,
when he speaks out the solution of a crime with a proud air, with a visible enjoyment of
superiority. When telling Dr Watson that he is an idiot in the first episode A study in pink, the
word rude may suddenly appear in watchers mind, they may be shocked and displeased of
such a character. But Sherlock continues by assuring his new roommate that he didnt mean to
insult because each person is in fact an idiot. Each person that refuses, ignores to think, doesnt
know how use his mind can be called this way.
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This special, unknown mechanism of thinking is based on regarding the problem in its
simplest form, then gathering all data related to it. This is a matter of details, because every
single thing can be vital to the resolution of the mystery. Sherlock is a genius of accessories,
nothing escapes his eye and he is obviously mad also at people that dont know how to observe
the things that move, stand, transform around them. Returning to details, the detective always
wants to solve a crime starting with the corpse, any possible information about the persons past
and present helps the image to form. A ring clean from inside and dirty form outside, the kind of
a paint substance, the mud from somebodys shoes, regards, hair, feet, clothes, they are all clues
brought into the network of thoughts, pieces of the same puzzle that Sherlock has to solve, for
there are lives at stake. In order to show where he looks, what questions he asks when he stands
beside a victim, where we should direct our thoughts, words and phrases appear on the screen,
more in the first episodes than the following.
Moreover, the detective directs our eyes to the most important things in a situation, like
he wants to teach us how to see, how to use our eyes for good observation. His massive package
of knowledge stands for instruments of mind, which develops its thoughts in the middle of the
science of deduction. This term is the invention of Sherlock Holmes, an invention of the
invention, and it produces every time a hypothesis that finishes with the characters exclamation
Oh!. In that moment, the audience knows it, knows that a brilliant idea popped into his mind
and the disequilibrium of the story will find calm waters soon. But he rarely reveals a
hypothesis until the final curtain. Although this appears to be a means of providing a surprise
ending to the adventures, it has scientific precedence (Heifetz, 1998: 4).
This mind is modern, it uses technology a lot, unlike Conan Doyles character. Sherlock
has a laptop and he writes a site about the science of deduction. Thus, he is exposed to the world,
his thoughts are shared, his strategies revealed. We can talk about a universal mind, famous all
over the world, at a click distance for anyone that uses Internet. Indeed, no such thing happens in
literature, for it is technology that creates a detective with different facets. Sherlock in the book
is Sherlock for London and its surroundings, the one from TV series is Sherlock for anyone and
anything around the world that succeed in capturing his attention. John Watson also writes a blog
about the cases of Sherlock, him who couldnt write a single word since his coming back from
war. Everyone can read about the consulting detective, study his mechanism of solving crimes,
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even his biggest enemy Moriarty. The blog has a far wider readership. This is a vulnerability
that Sherlock in the book doesnt know about.
An electronic map of London is inside Sherlocks head, so he can find the best way to
follow the taxi and catch the murderer in A study in pink. He knows that a phone can be
tracked through GPS, he searches the weather forecast on Internet, he sends phone messages to
each journalist in the room at the same time, and the list can continue, revealing a very smart
detective, eager to use everything new in terms of technology. His mind is but a microcosm of
what happens in the world of smartphones and laptops, but it is not replaced by these things.
His great deductive and observational skills combine with a practical use of the latest modern
technology (Bacik, 2013: 32), making him fast, brilliant, successful.
There is another thing about Sherlocks mind that makes it so special and different: he
doesnt form a premise when he stands before a mystery without looking forward to discover
more and more about the crime. This is what people do, youve got a solution that you like, but
you are choosing to ignore anything you see that doesnt comply with it , the detective affirms
in episode The Blind Banker. His mind recognized something unusual at a murder and he
chose not to jump at conclusions. In fact, this is why the police were lost without him because
they didnt even get to notice the most obvious details from the dead body, the house the person
lived in, job, friends, family, social life, so that they move to the next step of getting close to the
culprits name. Usually, Sherlock has some clues at the beginning, but what he does next is to
see what connects them, like in the story of the blank banker, where the people killed seemed to
have nothing to link them. A clue is not an answer, it is the start of a detective journey. A cipher
was the only connection between the murderers, from where a lot of questions raised for
Sherlock is a fan of good questions, the right questions. Again, his thoughts, ideas are under a
big question mark until the entire unknown about the crime is out. And his police companions
seem to be wrong about them like always; by contrast, the right way of asking questions is
given by Sherlock Holmes.
Very often, the detective retraces the steps of those murdered or even the killer, being
conscious of the fact that somewhere they will coincide. He is always working with what he has
in hand, never searching answers upon his imagination, intelligent presumptions that will fit his
game. We say game, indeed, because Sherlocks enjoyment of the puzzle makes him a little
sadistic sometimes, with all his enthusiasm when another murder is done.
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Here we find the only sickness that can hit his mind the boredom. He really uses free
time, when no murder appears, in order to dedicate himself to his little experiments, like putting
a dead head in the fridge to see the coagulation of saliva after death, gun shots into the wall of
Mrs Hudson, playing violin. The presence of trivial, too common events makes him nervous,
uneasy, mean. His mind hibernates and it seems that this is what he does also, because
everything alive happens inside the brain, it is related to what food is in London for his eager
senses, the best being mysterious, bizarre murderers. The things that are less heavy than his mind
can support, with far more less pressure and suspense than expected, are uninteresting and far
from catching his attention. It is quite awesome that Sherlock is considering himself a consultant
detective as long as his brain receives powerful stimuli and deals with them. All that matters to
me is the work! Without that, my brain rots. , says Sherlock in the episode The Great Game.
Universal truths that are supposed to be known by everyone, like the earth goes around the
sun, have no importance for him as long as this is not relevant for the case. Only the things that
are useful, Sherlock lets them inside, the others are deleted, the same as data from a hard drive,
how he calls his brain. Here it goes the explanation of the fact that the police, and people in
general, cannot get to the answer, because they put rubbish details inside their heads, which
makes it hard to get at the stuff that matters. But the audience dont have to expect another crime
to enjoy his beautiful and witty explanations to daily things happening around, for he is great in
every detective work he does, consciously or not.
All over the episodes, we follow Sherlock Holmess intelligent mind, surprised and
wondered each time by his intelligence and great introspection. This is our focus until John
Watson asks him if he ever cares about the lives that are at stake. Then, we notice disequilibrium
between the detectives mind and heart. He is so eager to get to the murderer and do justice, that
we think how much he must be interested in pulling the evil out of the world, so that people are
not hurt. But he seems to miss his sense for right and wrong (Bacik, 2013: 32) and he certainly
forgets about the human beings involved in his puzzle. We remember the people in danger of
being bombed from the episode The Great Game, whom he said they are not the important fact
in that moment, in comparison with solving the case. It makes him an obsessive person, it makes
us think he is heartless, incapable of passions of heart, but only of mind, incapable of feelings
and attachment, though he is always working with people, though using their knowledge for
himself. Never revealing his heart, caring only for what means for his mind a great challenge,
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Sherlock is saving many lives. Sometimes the audience might want him a little more human. He
is saving lives instead. Sherlock is a mind. This saves him from being a hero, who must be a
complete marvel, powerful, kind, good-looking, courageous, superior. Each of these
characteristics is inside of the detectives head. Everything happens there before happening
outside, before being visible to Londoners. Perhaps it is considered a little exaggerated, the fact
that he plays games with others minds in order to get the information he needs not a very
adorable trait of character, not a very elegant way of dealing with the lack of needed details. An
interesting image can form in our minds at this point, seeing Sherlocks mind like an isle that
collides with other minds, but never coming together. For his is superior, a great isle using the
touching of other worlds in order to answer the challenges in his world. This would seem rather
egocentric, but it is provided to us by an intelligent mind, a superior understanding of the world
we live in, of the forces that pull and push us towards our destinies, having echoes for each
person.
It is quite extraordinary how many people around Sherlock underestimate his intelligence
and skill in solving crimes. When he talks about a clue and its importance to the case, the men
and women from police rarely believe in them, although they lead to a brilliant discover. For
example, nobody seemed to think it was important that Carl Powerss shoes from The Great
Game were missing, when Sherlock made a fuss about it. Later, they are the toys of a serial
killer. Our characters thoughts are so unexpected, extraordinary, unusual, uncommon that it is
hard to be taken as grant. All of a sudden, it pops in our minds that a genius is usually rejected,
and that we deal here with a genial mind, regarded as a psychopaths mind. The more the people
around him gather suspicion upon his logic and him as person, the more prominent his
extraordinary wits become. Sometimes, this reaction comes from a matter of truth, told straight
into the face or discovered there where the person doesnt want to reveal it. Sherlock has always
this pleasure of getting the hidden things into the light and enjoying the expression of surprise on
those surprised by him. His mind digs inside the unknown, shouts the unspoken, to the wellness
of the world he lives in, like this is his duty, his mission.
Every time he takes a case, it represents for him a battle and he needs the right armor.
The multiple-faced perceptions of his duty are transforming his mind in a continuous changeable
part of himself, something that doesnt have a final frame, with the information inside. No
prediction can be made on him, because today he plays a game, tomorrow he fights as a soldier.
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Nevertheless, each experience changes his ideas and eventually his mind, it grows and surpasses
the boundaries, it takes the shapes of anything needed. There are more surprising elements from
his part at every solved crime. The closest persons in his life, although they clearly want to know
what happens in his heart from time to time, they are so eager to find out what is in his head, and
so intrigued not to find the answer just because they are so excited and nervous about what it
can be. What Mrs Hudson says in the episode A scandal in Belgravia is a personal question for
each person: How will we ever know what goes on in that funny old head?. And there is no
surprise for the choosing of the word old, for there happened things that would cover hundreds
of time for hundreds of human beings. Layer after layer, Sherlock put thoughts after thoughts in
there, in time, which made him, again, look like a universal mind an ancient treasure
represented by a mechanism able of facing the problems of any generation. This is the
representation of the history, with all its facets and turn-outs.
There is another thing about the detective mind that makes it so special and it is related to
the ability of dealing with multiple cases under a formidable pressure. This is the time when
adrenaline from his thoughts produces an explosion of thoughts, impelling them to move faster
and faster. He had to prove that a painting was fake in just ten seconds and he did it. All the other
puzzles he had to solve in a precise and not very long interval of time proved to set him on fire,
dancing from one piece of information to another, from one challenge to another, searching in
his mind for his best deduction. The audience could consider the episode The Great Game as
the worse problem Sherlock faced, be the latter had only one word to say about it: Excellent!.
He enjoyed the worst because this is what provoked him the most, requiring his best resources,
skills, memory. Because he has indeed an ability of finding solutions for the most problematic
situations, the source being his capacity of gathering a huge quantity of information and link the
facts and the ideas. No wonder that Moriarty states: everything I have to say has already crossed
your mind. What passes into others minds is a matter of reading them and interpretation of
reading. Thousands of wires connect inside of the detectives mind, going us back to the idea of
universal mind, comprising everything that happens, seeing beyond the events. At least this
impression is the one created upon the audience when Sherlock is in the middle of a gorgeous
exposure of his thoughts. Then, it is impossible for us to see him like a man of limited action and
limited knowledge. But watching the entire series, there is no doubt he needs someone to
complement him, one of the best persons for this thing being Dr Watson.
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Sherlock always give some space to the imagination, considering that some things are to
be left in its hands. Although this could be considered positive, he does it most of all for those
ideas that have no importance for the present time he lives in. He doesnt have a mind that
wanders from place to place for he doesnt need imagination very much a perfect assumption
when considering the detectives entire process of thinking. We can observe a choice of
following a way out through the nebulous happening of a crime, with no alternative roads taken
just for pleasure. Anything that doesnt have a specific purpose, acceptable for his mind, presents
no interest, for the specific reason that it could pull him away from the battlefield. Sherlocks
choice materializes in putting every thought in its right place, then using or not using it, only
appreciating sometimes. As in the scene of watching the sky full of stars altogether with John,
who was surprised by his companions admiring exclamation.
Sherlock always replies to everything is one of Dr Watsons saying about his colleague
from the episode A scandal in Belgravia, in order to describe the impossibility of ignorance in
what the latter is concerned about. Apart from the fact that he always has something to say, no
matter what would be the subject or situation, the detective responds to the stimuli sent towards
him. A real connection establishes between him and otherness, a fact that stops him from being
ignorant about what kind of relationship it can settle. He known so well that he cannot lose
anything he has in the hand by throwing it away before giving it a try. Right there it is born the
intelligent entity that grows and turns into the resolution of a case. The world outside gives him
the fuel for his mind, whom himself calls it an engine, racing out of control in the episode
The hounds of Baskerville. Still, when he doesnt have this fuel, it turns to itself in searching
of a consummation, which results into a chase of the thoughts inside, barely interrupted by the
world outside. Then, Sherlock is exhausted in his nerves provoked by calmness, he bursts into
fire from inside and he finds again, in the same episode, a comparison for this state of mind: a
rocket tearing itself to pieces, trapped of the launch pad.
Sherlocks mind turns also because the wheel turns, nothing is ever new in the world,
how he states in A scandal in Belgravia. He understands this truth and he uses patterns, this is
why he is always prepared for what follows, recognizing a replica when he sees it. But we talk in
this context only about useful tools, for we know he never become one of these patterns, never
getting trapped in. Furthermore, he thinks that many rules are wrong if they dont fit into his
liberty of convictions a very interesting contrast between freedom and dependence. With his
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mind, the detective can go anywhere and with the help of powerful people like Mycroft, his
brother, the thoughts can become action without many efforts. Still, Sherlock is an addict,
dependent of the cases, his mind has life in it, breathes, as long as killers and bad people exist.
We can notice in conclusion that the modern mind of Sherlock Holmes from TV series
jumps outside the ordinary, being brilliant, quick, creative, used a lot. It is universal, reaching
innumerable domains, subjects, people, places, just because he invites every stimulus inside his
head and then puts it in the right box. This is how nothing escapes his attention, offering the
freedom of dealing with anything new, accepting it to be part of his process of deduction. Still,
he is not enough for himself, he needs the people around to come and provide fuel for his
engine. We, the audience, are also this needed other; it also helps us to identify ourselves
with a part of Sherlocks mind, for nothing we give comes back to us without an effect.




















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Bibliography

Bacik, Tomas. Sherlock and Sherlock Holmes: A Comparative Analysis. Bachelors Diploma
Thesis, 2013.

Heifetz, L. Carl. The Scientific Detective, Sherlock Holmes, Solves the Case of the Sign of Four.
Published in The Wigmore Street Post Office Issue No. 11. Spring 1998: 3-9. Published in The
Hounds Collection Vol. 4. April 1999: 5-12.

Sherlock. Writ. Steven Moffat and Mark Gattis. BBC Worldwide, 2010.