How to Think Like Sherlock

We also tend to let our intuition run the show when it comes to making decisions, even when our intuitions are totally erroneous. Holmes—like many scientists—possessed a natural skepticism, which allowed him to constantly question his own assumptions and catch himself at brain biases like these.

To think more like Holmes, Konnikova argues, you need to both know yourself and your biases, and then practice the art of mindful observation. Motivation is important too, though, because to change your brain takes insight and practice…and lots of it. For those interested in how memory works, you may want to pick up the book Pieces of Light: According to Fernybough, our memory has two functions: Although many of us think of a memory as a fixed thing in the mind—much like a photograph or a video—neurologists have found that memory is fluid, constantly being re-created in our brains each time we recall something.

Memory can be embellished or enhanced with each recall—much like a story can change with each retelling.

How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes

This narrative aspect of memory is what fascinates Fernyhough most, and he mines neuroscience research, personal stories, and literary references to explain how memory functions in our daily lives. The laying down of a memory is a process dictated by emotion and circumstances, and its recall can be different on different occasions.

Of course, this means memory is somewhat unreliable—a fact that makes for interesting analysis, especially around issues like eyewitness accounts. Sherlock Holmes applied this knowledge to his cases—and used it to see what others could not! Fernyhough explains why sometimes smells or music can evoke powerful memories, and why many of our most vivid early memories come from a particular time in our lives late childhood and early adulthood.

Nice book for Sherlock fans. Jan 05, Grace Best-Page rated it it was ok. Too light and brief for serious study, but the gimmick of tying things to Holmes was what prompted my niece to give it to me as a Christmas present. I appreciate the thought and enjoyed doing the puzzles; however, the book itself is poorly done, with some downright mistakes in the puzzles. It lacked editing any decent proofreader would have caught the mistakes - as just one example, one of the puzzles had more answers than questions and takes itself far too seriously, considering some of the p Too light and brief for serious study, but the gimmick of tying things to Holmes was what prompted my niece to give it to me as a Christmas present.

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It lacked editing any decent proofreader would have caught the mistakes - as just one example, one of the puzzles had more answers than questions and takes itself far too seriously, considering some of the puzzles as fiendish when they were in fact child's play i. Okay, not everyone in the world can recognize the first five books of the Bible, but it's a fair bet that most people reading this book would. It was like someone trolled the internet for articles on brain training, took the first page of each, stuck them together with puzzles also garnered from a brief internet search, and got someone to publish it.

I should be so lucky! May 09, Magda rated it it was ok Shelves: That book was a gift and it really seemed a great idea when I got it. This one is totally misleading. One thing is certain — the author did his reading. Each chapter starts with a quite and there are tons of quotes all over the book. Quotes from all of the books and st That book was a gift and it really seemed a great idea when I got it. Quotes from all of the books and stories about sherlock. Have I mentioned there were quotes?

Other than that there were few tips and tricks that might help you become Sherlock, one of them saying you should read all the books to learn it, sooo… pretty much a fanboy writing a short book about his favorite character and adding some quizzes to make it into a self-improvement book.

Jun 19, E. Well, it's a great short, useless read for a long car ride. This brief novel promised and promoted more so than it actually produced. More than anything, it was a compilation of random Holmesian facts and brain teasers. There was no real, original or stimulating material. To be quite frank, anyone who's ever searched 'Sherlock Holmes' on the Net could have written this.

If you wish for a much shorter version, I would recommend going to 16Personalities.

How To Think Like Sherlock

Overall, thanks but no thanks. Maybe i'm not objective about this book because i bought it for my boyfriend and we kinda read it together. It was fun and we had fun while reading it and talking about it and Sherlocks in books, series and movies. Jan 03, Fifa rated it liked it Shelves: Sep 26, Maria rated it it was ok.

Nov 12, Emily J rated it it was ok. Lots of little brain -teasers and puzzles, there isn't a great deal of depth or research behind the statements in this book. A very quick read. Jan 22, Joseph rated it it was ok.

How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes (with Pictures) - wikiHow

I am a Conan Doyle fan from way back. Quick read but not too much to digest. Jan 02, Khris rated it liked it. This is more of an analysis of the fictional character Sherlock Holmes. Learned some new techniques and had fun doing some of the exercises. Mar 14, Francesca rated it it was ok. Feb 11, Rosie rated it it was ok. How to Think Like Sherlock is a peculiar kind of book.

As such, it came across as a bit confused as to what the book wanted to be and only contains very top-level examinations of both Sherlock and the How to Think Like Sherlock is a peculiar kind of book. As such, it came across as a bit confused as to what the book wanted to be and only contains very top-level examinations of both Sherlock and the skill sets. There was very little in-depth discussion. This may be a good book for encouraging skill development in younger readers, particularly those interesting in becoming spies or private detectives, but it was not really a book for me.

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Jan 30, Danielle Miceli rated it liked it. I liked it well enough. I wouldn't have picked it up myself had it not been included in a bookish subscription box, but some of the puzzles within were fun, and I enjoyed having a brief overview of Holmes' mindset, because I was thoroughly unfamiliar with "the Great Detective. If nothing else, it has inspired me to pick up some original Sherlock Holmes tales for the first time.

The many included quotes made Holmes seem far more interesting of a character than I'd previously imagined from hear-say. It's a systematic book about the main points regarding Holmes's skills, in others words, very clear. One would think that most of the points are obvious enough for Sherlock fans to notice on their own while reading numerous episodes.

Honestly, I was looking forward to some more detailed aspects of the techniques that the great detective uses. Overall, a great book, but just for those who wants to get a glimpse of the greatest mind of all human being, not for those who wish to go up to y 1. Overall, a great book, but just for those who wants to get a glimpse of the greatest mind of all human being, not for those who wish to go up to your friend the next time and telling him his story-of-the-day just by "observing.

Aug 09, Kylie rated it liked it Shelves: This book was interesting.

I really liked delving into each aspect of Sherlock's personality and brain. I was impressed with all the quotes relating to each section, but I kind of felt like it muddied up the parts that weren't quotes, making it kind of confusing and hard to keep interest in. There were also fun quizzes to test memory and codes and things like that which were a nice addition, but I ended up skipping most of them. I think my favorite part was how to improve memory, because it was This book was interesting.

I think my favorite part was how to improve memory, because it was the section that I would most likely actually practice. Aug 25, Aleksandra rated it it was amazing Shelves: What do I think of this book? First of all, it really should have more puzzles and riddles involving the skills you learn, as well as a few real life scenes in which you can see how to deduce!

Overall, this book is okay, and, I would recommended to only the people who know how to deduct. Feb 06, Fanny rated it it was ok. This is boring to read. Took me more than a month to finish this and I struggled to do it because The redeeming factor of this book is that it has pretty fun exercises at the end of each chapter.

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If you are new to Sherlock thanks to Benedict C. But if you are a Sherlockian, don't bother. May 12, Aims rated it liked it. Fun to read and I definitely loved the lessons and quizzes, but most of the book would have been much more relevant if I was up to snuff on all things Sherlock Holmes.