Think Like Sherlock: Creatively Solve Problems, Think with Clarity, Make Insightful Observations & Deductions, and Develop Quick & Accurate Instincts (Think Smarter, Not Harder Book 5)

by Peter Hollins

Holmes reveals how observation, critical thinking, and reasoning triumph in problem-solving.

ability to be observant. Objectively looking at a situation is the key to at least half of the issues we face. This includes watching and perceiving something unfold, “reverse-engineering” or reasoning backward, and coming up with scenarios and answers for every detail, significant or small.

It also means being systematic and patient in the way we think instead of rashly jumping to conclusions based on very little information and personal bias.

Intellectually curious people go far beyond the surface level of what they see and hear. They don’t stop asking “why?” They don’t stop asking when they feel comfortable with the answers—they keep plunging into the question at hand until they’ve peeled away the layers of the situation like an onion.

Spending 10 minutes a day learning about something you’re interested in but don’t know anything about—French

Learning about subjects directly or peripherally related to a practical aspect of your life. If you’re a plumber, you might find yourself more apt to understand how farm irrigation systems work. If you’re a barista, maybe you’d find it easier to learn how to home-brew certain drinks.

Thinking outside the box. The term didn’t exist until the 1970s, but “thinking outside the box” captures Sherlock Holmes’s methodology perfectly. It means considering every angle, choice, and option in a situation. It means using critical thinking to assess what we see and observe.

Thinking outside the box engages the strongest impulses of our critical minds. It helps us specify what’s probable and what isn’t.

“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?

(S) substitute, (C) combine, (A) adapt, (M) minimize/magnify, (P) put to another use, (E) eliminate, and (R) reverse.

Mess-finding is all about spotting a situation that demands attention, one that’s necessary or interesting enough to merit your continued engagement as you proceed with the problem-solving process.

Fact-finding. Once you’ve found a mess (i.e., an area of focus), the second step calls for you to fully expand your understanding of that mess. Fact-finding is about engaging with the mess and tinkering with and delving deeper into the bits of it that would be interesting or necessary to consider for problem-solving.

Divergent thinking is a thought process whereby you attempt to generate as many spontaneous ideas as possible, with little concern as to whether they’re logical, correct, or valid.

How would you sum up your life in six words?

(1) become more detail-oriented, (2) give your 100% focus, (3) note differences from baseline, (4) understand people’s self-perceptions, and (5) see the big picture.

“The little details are by far the most important.”

External distractions may come in the form of a chatty colleague, social media or email notifications, noisy construction sounds from the other room, or uncomfortable room temperature. Internal distractions are thoughts and feelings that interfere with your ability to think and focus.

baseline is what is considered normal or typical for a particular object of observation. For

A combination of the micro and macro view of what’s being observed is thus essential to the art of observation.

Deduction is essentially reverse storytelling. It’s the art of taking the information available to you at a given moment and then reasoning backward from effect to cause.

The act of thinking about your own thinking is known as metacognition.

metacognition allows you to detect errors in your own deductive problem-solving methods and continually check yourself for faulty reasoning so that you avoid making errors in judgment.

Humility involves having the capacity to put your ego aside and to steer clear from having a self-important perspective.

Ego does not promote effective problem-solving.

Deductive reasoning is what turns the information you gathered from observing into significant assumptions, conclusions, and judgments.

what is done with the information in (1) observations and (2) deductions.

Observations are all about taking in information.

Deductions are about connecting the dots and explaining what’s in front of you. Deductions are essentially storytelling in reverse.

Shifting your perspective is defining and refining the problem.

man muss immer umkehren, or “invert, always invert,”

why people fail instead of why they succeed.

This is also known as reverse brainstorming, a process whereby you consider an inverted or negative question and allow the answers to simply flow out.

The art of inverting questions and reverse brainstorming is a powerful thinking tool, as it shines a light not only on which paths to take but often more importantly on which paths to steer clear of or guard against.

Paraphrasing is a method of restating problems by using different words to deliver the same thought.

redirecting the focus. For this method, you’ll need to proactively seek out a different focus, distinct but still related to the problem.

Substituting works best when you need to restate a problem in such a way as to create a more concrete scenario for you and your brainstorming team to visualize.

Redefining and rephrasing problems is an important and valuable tool that enables you to take the same information and see it through a different lens.

Whether by inversion, paraphrasing, redirection of focus, varying of stress patterns, or substitution, restating the problem will allow you to shift your perspective in such a way that will clear the path toward finding fresh and ingenious solutions.

Trying to answer “what if” questions hones your problem-solving skills by stretching your mind to consider everything from the unlikely to the impossible, thus opening you up to a more diverse world of alternative explanations and solutions.

A thought experiment, in a more general context, is essentially playing out a “what if” scenario to its end.

A thought experiment allows you to analyze interesting premises you could never do in reality and make new leaps of logic and discovery because you can analyze premises that current knowledge doesn’t yet reach

Be observant and act like an information sponge.

What are the origins of your emotions toward each option, and are they reasonable or even relevant, for that matter?

Murphy’s law: everything that can go wrong will go wrong.

Thinking critically

Here’s an easy definition: it’s how to logically and rationally think about what’s in front of you and getting a true and deep understanding about a subject.

Critical thinking means not simply accepting information at face value. Information has a source, has a purpose, and has consequences—this is a level of analysis you are likely ignoring.

Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do or what to believe. It includes the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking.

Critical thinking is not a matter of accumulating information. A person with a good memory and who knows a lot of facts is not necessarily good at critical thinking. A critical thinker is able to deduce consequences from what he knows, and he knows how to make use of information to solve problems and to seek relevant sources of information to inform himself.

Critical thinking can help us acquire knowledge, improve our theories, and strengthen arguments.