Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes - Maria Konnikova
The book uses the Sherlock Holmes character only as a peg to hang basic concepts of neuropsychology that explain the way we think. Nobody with a pulse is as alert and imaginative as Holmes, just as nobody with an average amount of anxiety and sadness is going to become a stoic sage.
However, the foundations on which Holmes' abilities are based are scientifically plausible, and the sub-virtues of good calculation, good sense, and quick-wittedness can also be developed or enhanced. So much so that, although we will never rival Holmes and dazzle the Watsons around us, at least we will be able to manage information in a similar way to how he does. And thinking like Holmes, we will also be able to tackle ordinary problems in a more effective way.
I found it to be a very good synthesis of other works of cognitive psychology, neurology and decision-making. In fact, since it is not likely that we will hunt up the books cited, the explanations elucidate concepts that are probably too technical for most of us. Konnikova explicates the usual stumbles and pratfalls in our thinking when dealing with reality, i.e. that which does not go away even when we ignore it in the wan hope that it will go away.
I have wondered about William James and his ghost-hunting so, I really liked how Konnikova deals with the infamous episode of Arthur Conan-Doyle's unshakable belief in fairies and spooks.
Worth reading for readers into pop psychology.
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