In the world of crime, he was the best problem solver. Outside the world of crime, he was one of the best problem-solving thinkers. What hides behind? One skill. One skill made all the difference. He recognized and developed what was his greatest strength, his way of thinking. His natural way of problem solving thinking became a skill that made him famous. Problem-solving thinking in combination with detail-oriented, concrete and specific thinking was all his cases needed to be solved. Visual brain language helped him not just to see, but to observe. Always questioning everything and asking ‘’why’’. Never letting generalization to blind him and making the mistake of stepping over critical details.
He had a keen interest in unusual or bizarre crimes, without which he would rapidly become bored. He lived for brain-work and couldn’t imagine his life without it.
Sherlock was a thinker and an observer; his incredible ability to notice and draw deductions from seemingly trivial details was his main tool for solving the crimes he investigated. He also often utilized his “mind palace”, a tool for remembering the smallest of details and organizing his memories in a visual way. This system of storing memories as plotting them on a map of a familiar location and retrieving those memories by finding the way back to them, enabled him to -theoretically- never forget anything.
To use this skill, Sherlock required silence and space to himself to reduce outside interference. Upon meeting a person, he would often “scan” them, using elements of their appearance and behavior to arrive at astonishingly accurate conclusions about their past or personality. He sometimes even performed cold readings on a location such as an apartment to deduce a trait related to the current resident.
Holmes’s greatest passion was the human facility for logic and deduction. Presumably the fourth most intelligent human on Earth. Impeccable? No, as he used to admit “there is always something” that he missed or misinterpreted. He would ask himself, “Have I framed the question properly? Have I accomplished my goal? Or do I need to start over? This was an interactive process; the repetition he used was a form of continuous improvement that kept his mind open and sharp. It’s an effective tool for anyone wanting to be a better problem solver.
He worked diligently to improve himself, not for his own enlargement, but because he devoutly believed that this was the most important work available to humanity. Likewise, he had a desire to improve the minds of the masses, starting with his best friend John Watson.
*Sherlock Holmes (born William Sherlock Scott Holmes) was the world’s only consulting detective, a profession he created for himself. Sherlock Holmes lived at 221b Baker Street between 1881-1904, according to the stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Mr. Holmes shared his rooms with his loyal friend and colleague Dr Watson. Due to its special architectural and historical interest the house is protected by the government today.
The Sherlock Holmes Museum was opened in 1990 by the Sherlock Holmes International Society. A place of a mystery created by Mr. Holmes and Dr Watson allows visitors to sit in Mr Holmes’s armchair by the fireside and to pose for photos. His possessions are in their usual place: his deerstalker, magnifying glass, calabash pipe, violin, chemistry equipment, notebook, Persian slipper and disguises.”
