“You interest me…covet your skull.” (Doyle 1)
Dear Reader,
I’ve read all of the original canon. I know that this isn’t the only explanation for why Holmes is as good as he is. Holmes references various studies and is always doing wild experiments. I am well aware of that. But stating that it’s genetics that make Holmes capable of doing all those studies and wild experiments, that the fucking lumps in his skull are what allows him to do all that? Doyle must’ve sampled some of Holmes’ vices when he wrote this line.
To chalk up Holmes’ incredible prowess as him simply being “built different,” is fucking ludicrous from both a scientific and literary angle. It saves Holmes from any great depth and quite frankly makes his accomplishments feel unearned. To see it done right I’d like to introduce you to my favorite show, Psych.
Psych is an adaptation of Sherlock Holmes that doesn’t let our protagonist, Shawn Spencer, off the hook that easily. Shawn uses similar methods of deduction to Sherlock to at least the same degree of skill, solving various crimes as a consultant. The twist of Psych is that he’s so good that the only explanation that will satisfy the cops, other than him being an inside man, is him being psychic, being “built different.” The difference between Holmes and Shawn is we’re never meant to believe that Shawn actually has some sort of genetic gift that allows him to be an amazing detective. Shawn was trained from a young age to be an amazing detective, and he’s gotten damn good at it without any handwavy bullshit from the author. Everything that Shawn does feels earned. Most episodes show us how he earned it with flashbacks to him and his father doing some sort of training in the art of deduction.
Whenever you ask the question. “Why did Sherlock know such and such thing?” You can go through different explanations but in the end, you’ll always end up in the same place. “Because he’s Sherlock Holmes.”
It’s pseudoscience like phrenology that chalks up all of Holmes’ skill to nothing more than his genetics that grinds my gears. Because if he’s genetically destined to be a great detective then where is his free will? I like it when I feel like my characters have control over their fates.
Fuck bigoted pseudoscience that reduces people and characters to who they are and not what they do.
Yours From the Moon and Back,
Carmine “Red” Zuigiber
I agree and do think that pseudoscience can reduce people and characters to who they are and not what they do. I can see how phrenology would minimize Holmes’ hard efforts in his deductions because of “a curve” in his skull. It is, however, interesting to read about pseudoscience and see how people tried to make sense of intelligence.
I think it’s also interesting for people to think about whether he was genetically destined for greatness or his his determination for greatness changed him genetically!