I Hear Of Sherlock Everywhere

It's easy to assume that Sherlock Holmes's powers were something of an anomaly - that Holmes was a superhero with something akin to super powers, and we mere mortals cannot attain the same level of expertise and professionalism. But that assumption would be wrong, as author Maria Konnikova has made abundantly clear. In her book Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, Konnikova, who holds a doctorate in psychology from Columbia University and writes the "Literally Psyched" column for Scientific American, deconstructs the process of observation, deduction and self-knowledge. In doing so, she gives the reader concrete examples of how to approach the fabled scientific method, along with the psychology behind the process. While we have previously reviewed her book, our conversation with Maria in this episode took personal turns and got us much deeper into the creative process, her inspiration, and even a back story to Holmes that gave him these powers. In addition, we covered topics from the ridic