Tintin Forums

Tintinologist.org Forums / The Members Lounge /

The Science of Observation and Deduction

Shivam302001
Member
#1 · Posted: 8 Jan 2019 15:58
I was just reading the Sherlock Holmes canon the other day and I was struck as always by the almost supernatural powers of the sleuth to observe and deduce from a given set of elements both its origin and its future. The most instructive part of the canon which dwelves intensively in this science is the very first novel, 'A Study in Scarlet'.It was said there:
'From a drop of water, a logician could infer the possibility of an Atlantic or a Niagara without having seen or heard of one or the other.'

It sure is interesting!

Neither is it just restricted to Mr.Holmes. Our very own Tintin also shows proficiency in the science of observation and deduction and thus can lay his hand on the truth through logical reasoning.

As far as I have been able to understand, we need to sharpen these skills to be astute in this particular science (more suggestions are welcome)-
-Keen eye for observation (for this is start of the chain)
-Logical reasoning (to know what is possible and what is not)
-Producing the most probable option through trial and error
-Cross-checking our inference with the information we have on hand

Of course, Rome was not built in a day. Similarly, we should not expect to know a person's profession through his wrist-watch or his attire neither his personal habits through his smartphone or hair on our very first attempt. As with any science, we must commit ourselves to it in order to enlighten ourselves and reap its benefits. Doing so, we can open a whole new dimension to the world we already knew, knowing and understanding things which we often turned a blind eye to before.

I,for myself, am also trying to grasp this skill. Only the other day, in school, I tried my hand in observation and deduction. I observed that my friend would always bring money to buy lunch from the school canteen, while others generally brought their lunch from home. Hence, I could easily deduce that both his parents must be professionally engaged and hence does not have time to make lunch for him. When I told him so, he agreed. This is the absolute base point of this skill but as I said before, Rome was not built in a day.

So, what do the other Tintinologists have to say about this? Is anyone interested in the science of observation and deduction and tried his/her hand in trying out this skill?
snowybella
Member
#2 · Posted: 8 Jan 2019 23:51
That's funny - I was reading The Hound of the Baskervilles just yesterday! Synchronicity, or what?

I think another skill that would be helpful is:

Cross-questioning the subject.

I think that this would be helpful because, for all we know, the interrogated person might be lying, he might have not told a fact to the press, or, like the butler in Baskervilles (sorry, I forgot his name!), he might have got an important fact wrong.

I suppose that being inquisitive would be good too - connected with the above point, the detective may find a clue to the answer that had been entirley overlooked earlier. Not only that, Tintin seems to use this skill quite often (start of Black island, when he discovers the Colonel's cigars in the drawers in Cigars of the Pharaoh, etc.), and he's a great detective.

I actually haven't tried out all the skills, but I have tried the "keen eye for observation" one a few times, but not in the most important cases, such as spotting pigeons in trees.

Shivam302001:
Only the other day, in school, I tried my hand in observation and deduction.

Good work!

Please be sure to familiarize yourself with the Forum Posting Guidelines.

Disclaimer: Tintinologist.org assumes no responsibility for any content you post to the forums/web site. Staff reserve the right to remove any submitted content which they deem in breach of Tintinologist.org's Terms of Use. If you spot anything on Tintinologist.org that you think is inappropriate, please alert the moderation team. Sometimes things slip through, but we will always act swiftly to remove unauthorised material.

Reply

 Forgot password
Please log in to post. No account? Create one!