Be the modern-day Sherlock Holmes. Read this article to learn more about the study of deduction!
Introduction
In any Sherlock Holmes novel you read or any interpretation you watch, Sherlock Holmes is always able to pull off amazing feats with his ability to deduce. He can always study a person and read their history as if it was written out in a book, getting it right 98% of the time. In A Study in Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes wrote an article that talks about deduction, and how it is used. He calls deduction a science. He also talks about the correct ways to use it and the steps you use to identify and deduce everything about a person. Deduction is different depending on the person. Each person has their strengths and weaknesses. If you find something, for instance, figuring out what a person did the night before is easy, yet deducing a person’s current emotion impossible, we got you! You will be able to deduce in no time! With that being said, let’s get started.
Reading Body Language
Deduction is honestly just a fancy word for reading body language. If you read books about sherlock, you'll know half of his deductions have to do with the way the person is holding their head or the way they have their arms crossed, or if they are sitting up straight or slouching, etc.
However, it's not as easy as it seems, everyone’s body languages are different. While one person might cross their legs and lean back to add distance to the person they are talking to, others do it because they know that it’s going to be a long talk that they are interested in and are ready to have a lengthy conversation with that person. Here is a scenario of the basic way to know if something is wrong. If you are talking to them, and they acting normal, for example, slumping slightly. Then, you say something, and all of a sudden they stood straight and avert their gaze, something is up. Figure out what the person’s neutral state is so that when they start to act differently, you can point it out immediately.
Understand, observe people and repeat
Before you start to pull little tricks to impress your friends, test it out on the streets first. Observe people as you ride to school, or go to the supermarket. Reading body language is like riding a bike. Observing people's behaviour on a day-to-day basis will train you into a master of deduction.
The Basics in Body Language
People have their arms crossed: For most people, having your arms crossed is very natural body language. Therefore, you can’t really tell what a person is thinking when they have their arms crossed. But you can tell from the rest of their body. Usually, if a person is looking away, or has their feet pointed away, they don’t really want to talk and are waiting to step away. If a person is standing up incredibly straight and has their arms clenched at the elbows, this usually means they are agitated, upset, or angry at someone or something.
Freeze, Flight, Fight: The human instinct is to survive.
Flight: When people are faced with immediate danger, they will get away from the setting as quickly as possible. An example would be: when children don’t like a certain food, they slump far back in the chair, push the food forward, and tries to get away from the food as far as possible. This can also be seen in adults. When a person is greeted by a person they don’t like, their body subconsciously might lean away, or take a half step back from the person. They’ll stand up straighter than they would with a friend, as if ready to bolt at any minute. Their body movements are a bit more jerky and they keep their guard up more.
Fight: It’s the most stereotyped and least used of them all. As stated above, people keep their guard up when feel repelled by a person or situation. While most people think the fight response is only with fists and feet, it can be done with a mouth as well. If you’ve ever used sarcasm excessively on one person, or outright taunted a person, that is the fight response.
Rules of Deduction
1. You see, but you don’t observe
Most people look around them and take notice, yet, they don’t use their observation skills. For example, if I showed you a picture for 20 seconds and you only "see" it, you could maybe remember 4 or 5 things. However, if you observed the picture, you could notice 15-20 things from the picture. You observe in detail when you observe. Another example would be from another Sherlock Holmes story. When Watson doesn’t understand how Sherlock observes, Holmes breaks it down for him. He asks John how many times he has walked up the steps to Baker Street. Watson says he walked up the stairs many times, and he can remember where each step is. But when Sherlock asks Watson how many steps there are, Watson doesn’t know, because he only "saw" the steps, but never observed them. Sherlock then tells Watson “There are 17 steps. You see, I don’t just see, I observe.”
2. It Takes Time
If you don’t master deductions in one day, don’t fret. Doing deductions is like doing any other sport. You must practice every day in order to improve. Personally, I recommend practising for 2 hours when you've just started. Remember, it’s not a skill you acquire overnight, and needs to be honed over time.
3. Checking it Once, Checking it Twice
Take in everything before you come to a conclusion. If all you see is the person’s facial expressions and start to make deductions/assumptions, I can promise you that your conclusion is probably going to be wrong. You must take everything into account before you deduce. Once you get used to it, it’s like second nature.
4. Uniqueness in every individual
Learn people’s specific quirks and the way they act. You can see that I deduce, but I can only guess because I’ve talked to the people before and I know the way they write and how they act. Every single person you meet is unique and they will react differently to the same stimulations or situations.
Consider this: ask two people to come with you, and bring a soft rubber ball with you. Ask them to stand right next to each other. First, fake a throw. You will see one might flinch, while the other won’t. Or both will flinch, or neither will. Now throw the ball into the middle of them, and watch their body posture and how they follow the ball. Thirdly, toss the ball lightly to each one of them. You will notice they both catch and react to the ball differently. Finally, chuck the ball at them and see how they react. You will see that the two people each reacted differently to the same stimuli you gave them.
5. Only your interest matters
People might think it’s weird, not normal, freaky, or just plain rude that you can figure out how they feel without them telling you. My advice to you is don’t take these comments personally. If the science of deduction really piques your interest, then enjoy the time you spend learning about it.
How to Practice Your Skills
Whenever you deduce, please keep the following quote in mind: “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
This means if you think up a completely absurd deduction, like your friend’s gecko died, even though they got a gecko as a pet last week. It’s highly likely to be true if only logic is applied to such conclusion. Don’t overthink things and follow your brain, not your heart. If you can do that, you will be a master at deduction.
Surprisingly, practising deduction in silence is more effective than you talking to yourself during practice. For the first year or so of your deduction skills, keep silent when you want to deduce because if you don’t, you won’t catch on to some of the important details.
Finally, use your senses to your advantage (sight, touch, taste, hear, and smell). Now, of course, if it’s toxic, use common sense but other than that, try to use as many senses as you can to learn everything you can. The way Sherlock was able to identify the 243 types of tobacco was not just by sight, but by smelling it and feeling its texture. Use your senses to identify different substances. This will be very useful in your deduction journey.
Citation:
1. thescienceofdeduction-co-uk. “The Science of Deduction.” Analysis of Tobacco Ash: DELETED!! The Aluminium Crutch: Ongoing Case Analysis of Perfumes: Ongoing Case Hidden Message #3 - I Need Your Help Hidden Message #2 - Answer Revealed Hidden Message #1 -..., thescienceofdeduction-co-uk.tumblr.com/.
2. “The Science of Deduction.” HuffPost UK, 23 Feb. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sheheryar-ahmed-khan/the-science-of-deduction_b_14929694.html. Accessed 13 Dec. 2022.
3. Desk, T. P. C. Sherlock Holmes and Doyle’s Introduction of Analysis and Deduction | the Policy Chronicle. www.thepolicychronicle.co.in/sherlock-holmes-and-doyles-introduction-of-analysis-and-deduction/. Accessed 13 Dec. 2022.
4. “Arthur Conan Doyle Quotes (Author of a Study in Scarlet).” Goodreads.com, 2020, www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2448.Arthur_Conan_Doyle.
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