A Few Lessons from Sherlock Holmes

The fatal mistake which the ordinary policeman make is this, that he gets his theory first, and then makes the facts fit it, instead of getting his facts first and making all his little observations and deductions until he is driven irresistibly by them into an elucidation in a direction he may never have originally contemplated.

We need to both observe the big picture - forest - and the details - trees - Sometimes the trivial or the most immaterial aspect of a case may be the most important but we need to learn how to separate between trifles that matter and those that don’t

I knew that seclusion and solitude were very necessary for my friend in those hours of intense mental concentration during which he weighed every particle of evidence, constructed alternative theories, balanced one against the other, and made up his mind as to which points were essential and which immaterial. (Dr. Watson; The Hound of the Baskervil

realize that if you ask people to account for “facts”, they usually spend more time finding reasons for them than finding out whether they are true...They skip over the facts but carefully deduce inferences. They normally begin thus: “How does this come about?” But does it do so? That is what they ought to be asking. (Montaigne)

Distance gives perspective - Sometimes we need to remove ourselves from the problem and get a fresh perspective

I fear, sir...that, interesting and indeed essential as these details are, my inquiries must go more to the root of things. (Holmes;

Strip away things that don’t count and focus on what matters - the core Eliminate possibilities - What can we exclude? - Assuming the true solution or explanation is among the considered possibilities

I think I should like to sit quietly for a few minutes and think it out. (Holmes; Thor Bridge) “I wish I knew how you reach your

Put yourself in the other person’s shoes Well, now, let us put ourselves in the place of Jonathan Small. Let us look at it from his point of view...Now what could Jonathan Small do? (Holmes; The Sign of the Four)

Don’t miss the forest for the trees - It is not the amount of information that counts but the relevant one.