Re:A Nerd’s Way to Walk Up the Stairs (2011)
by graeme on Saturday August 18, 2018 @09:13PM
(#17791929)
The fun of Sherlock Holmes was that he was written to be somewhat plausible, while having a result that is far fetched. What would happen if someone built a map of London in their head? And know where all the major shops were? And studied cigar ash, and the fonts of newspapers? Etc.
The implication is that Holmes perhaps had a brain that was particularly well suited to such trivia, and a habit of observations. With practice comes skill in making and retaining such observations.
Now, the stair example is indeed a bit much. I doubt holmes would have counted the steps in every staircase he saw (though then again, if one practiced making such observations....). But Holmes did enjoy throwing people off guard, so knowing the number of steps in ones’ own home might indeed be a useful tidbit, precisely since it would offer the opportunity to throw Watson off guard.
The implication is that Holmes perhaps had a brain that was particularly well suited to such trivia, and a habit of observations. With practice comes skill in making and retaining such observations.
Now, the stair example is indeed a bit much. I doubt holmes would have counted the steps in every staircase he saw (though then again, if one practiced making such observations....). But Holmes did enjoy throwing people off guard, so knowing the number of steps in ones’ own home might indeed be a useful tidbit, precisely since it would offer the opportunity to throw Watson off guard.