The Game Of Deduction

I must apologize for my absence for the last several months. I have been extremely busy with work, as well as technical issues with my email account. I haven't been able to devote much time to my study of deduction, and as such, I have not been active on my YouTube channel or this website. Thankfully, Professor Steed has been doing an excellent job with his channel, so I hope you all have been following his work in the meantime.

With that out of the way, I'd like to talk about the importance of the way you view deduction in theory and in practice; your "perspective" of deduction, if you will.

You are most likely familiar with the fact that Sherlock Holmes often refers to the "game," particularly when dealing with Moriarty or another formidable adversary. He treats said adversary as his opponent in a game of concealing and discovering information.

I believe that viewing deduction through the lens of playing a game is beneficial for a number of reasons:

1. Emotional Detachment

Any accomplished deductionist can tell you that it is of the utmost importance to prevent your emotions from interfering with your logical reasoning. Don't get me wrong, it's still important to be able to understand the emotions of other people, and how those emotions may factor into a problem (e.g. a motive). But you can't allow your personal feelings to influence your thinking when you approach a problem.

A game consists of at least one player in a certain environment, following certain rules to achieve a certain outcome. By viewing the elements of a problem as the environment and other people as players, you can detach yourself emotionally from the actual events that are occurring.

For example, consider that your house was broken into while you were on vacation and several valuables were stolen. You are now attempting to solve the crime and identify the thief. If you view this situation for what it really is, you may feel a number of emotions relating to the event. You might be angry that someone broke into your home. You might feel vulnerable, as break-ins often cause people to feel a certain sense of insecurity.

If, instead, you choose to see this event as a game, you can view the factors of the problem as the elements in a puzzle. The objective of the game is to discover the identity of the burglar. The burglar is your opponent. Observation and logical reasoning are the rules of the game.

2. Games Have Rules, And Rules Can Be Bent (Or Even Broken)

Whenever I play "Clue" with my friends or family, there are two methods that I use to win: the first is the may the game-makers intended: by moving to rooms, making accusations, and collecting information from other players' cards.

The second - and slightly more dubious - method involves doing things that are not strictly against the rules, but are not explicitly mentioned by them either. It involves paying attention to things like where people write down information on their clue sheets. Writing in the top third of the sheet indicates that they are marking off a suspect, for example.

Also, pay attention to the conversation, as people sometimes give away information without realizing it. I'm sure that those of you who've played clue are familiar with methods like this.

The point is this: when you view deduction as game, it is important to realize that a game has rules, but rules can often, if not always, be bent or broken. That's the main difference between people like Lestrade and people like Holmes: the former solves crimes by the rules, the latter uses unconventional methods to reach the goal by any means necessary.

3. Every Game Can Be Won

Is it true that every puzzle has a solution? Is it true that every game can be won? I honestly don't know, but I do know that puzzles aren't solved by believing that they can't be solved. View every case and every puzzles as a game that can be won, and start from there. The only way to know whether it can be solved is to try.

Conclusion

Hopefully this helps you to get into the right mindset for deduction. I hope to be able to get back into my deduction study so that I can work on this website some more. We'll have to see if time permits.

Until then, take care.