How to think Holmesian

Literature has always provided valuable fodder to the human sciences.

The basis of much of Sigmund Freud's theories of psychoanalysis was literary. According to the Freudian scheme of things humans are fundamentally ruled by animalistic sexual drive, and none emblematized this more forcefully than the Greek mythical figure of Oedipus.

If sons display an overt love for their mothers (and by default wish to be in their father's shoes, in a manner of speaking) then they are in the grip of an Oedipal complex.

In her new book that explores the intersection of literature and psychology, Maria Konnikova claims that if we are in the habit of stereotyping, seeking confirmation for our biases and are not prone to question our assumptions, then our brains are in the grip of a Watsonian complex, Watson being the famous sidekick of the legendary Victorian sleuth Sherlock Holmes.

What then are the evidences that our brains are on the side of Sherlock? When we don't just "see" but keenly "observe" as well. When we are attentive, mindful, self-questioning and rational.

According to Konnikova, our brains have both systems--System Holmes and System Watson and we spend most of our time running System Watson, so we jump to conclusions, travel along familiar cognitive paths and bungle when the chips are down.

But it is possible to train ourselves to run system Holmes by practicing the following on a daily basis:

Pay mindful attention, think twice, question your own assumptions, be methodical, and if you're stuck on a problem take time out to let it percolate through your unconscious while you go for a stroll / do some knitting / chase the cat round the house with a Nerf gun. Be aware, above all, of your own fallibility.

Come to think of this, actualizing the System Holmes part of our brains sounds like an uphill task, yet to the owner of that brain, it's "elementary".