The New Math?
I saw a strange but fascinating movie as a young man; I may have been a little young to view it, but view it I did. It was called The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, and was a Sherlock Holmes story. I love mysteries, and ‘Conan Doyle’s master sleuth is certainly no exception.
At that age, I surely noticed the movie depicted the great detective’s drug woes, but figure I had no idea the title referred to cocaine, as I was slow to grasp such things, despite growing up in a society fraught with substance abuse. My reliance on medications probably kept me from drug addiction, as I hate drugs but have to take them.
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution starred Nicol Williamson, Robert Duvall, Alan Arkin, Vanessa Redgrave and Sir Laurence Olivier, as Holmes, Watson, Freud, Lola Devereaux, and Moriarty, respectively. As Holmes investigates Devereaux’s disappearance, Freud tries to solve Holmes’ cocaine addiction.
I researched the movie’s title 44 years after seeing it in the theater at age 9. There seems to be no evidence of any such solution akin to the film’s title. Holmes was cutting the substance with 93 percent of something else seemingly harmless, but I’m against drug use, and don’t want to provide adverse, “education”, by elaborating.
The film was exciting, but there might be more edifying topics to watch, not sure; I haven’t seen it since it was released in 1976. Writer/Director Nicholas Meyer penned this tale, and also helmed other past favorites, notably, Time After Time, a Wellsian time-travel yarn, and some of the best, original-cast Star Trek films.
What does 28% relate to? With 9 years in blogging, we have a very small, boutique1 following, but one that I am very proud of and grateful for. In our 9th year, we have added followers equaling 28% of our entire readership, ‘end of 2019. So, nothing to do with cocaine, more to do with loyal fans who check in to read now and then.
FitzGerald Press seems to have grown this year at approximately four times its average rate heretofore. That would bring a cocaine-languished 7 percent, to a more robust, 28 percent.
The number 7 is the perfect number in numerology, and I’m not detracting by any means, but I love basketball, so I’ll take a double-double anytime (4); this is what we call in the entertainment industry, “The New Math”2 
