Becoming Sherlock - The Power of Observation and Deduction ( PDFDrive ) PDF

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BecomingSherlock: ThePowerofObservation&Deduction   STEFANCAIN

 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,distributed, ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,includingphotocopying,recording, orotherelectronicormechanicalmethods,withoutthepriorwrittenpermission ofthepublisher,exceptinthecaseofbriefquotationsembodiedincritical reviewsandcertainothernoncommercialusespermittedbycopyrightlaw.

  Copyright©2015StefanCainAlthoughtheauthorandpublisher havemadeeveryefforttoensurethattheinformationinthisbookwascorrectat presstime,theauthorandpublisherdonotassumeandherebydisclaimany liabilitytoanypartyforanyloss,damage,ordisruptioncausedbyerrorsor omissions,whethersucherrorsoromissionsresultfromnegligence,accident,or anyothercause. 

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DEDICATION  Toallthosewhostrivetoseethatwhichotherscannot,inanefforttobecome happierandmoresuccessfulinlife. "Theworldisfullofobviousthingswhichnobodybyanychanceeverobserves. SherlockHolmesQuote   

 Thispageintentionallyleftblank.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS   Asyoureadthisbook,you’llwanttorememberthefictionalcharacter,Sherlock Holmes,andrecognizetheimpactthischaracterplayedonfuturegenerationsof allages.

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INTRODUCTION

 Wouldn’tyoulovetohave“superhuman”observationabilitieslikeSherlock Holmes?Well,contrarytopopularbelief,thecapabilitytoobserveanddeduce isnotanaturalability.Professionaldetectivesactuallytakeyearsofpracticing tocultivategoodhabitsassociatedwithmindfulness. Thetruthisthatmostofususuallydon’tnoticetheworldaroundus.And,it seemsthattheyoungerweare,themoreweareinto“multitasking”.Iputthatin quotesbecauserecentstudieshaveshownthatthere’sactuallynosuchthingas multitasking.Inactuality,yourbrainisreallysimplyswitchingfromonetaskto another,andalternating.Thesedays,we’reevenlikelytoseechildrenon skateboardswithcellphones! There’ssomuch“noise”aroundusandwithconstantinterruptions,theresultis thatwewantto“prioritize”andworkmuchfastertogeteverythingdone. But,oh,thepricewepay. Ifyou’relikemostpeople,you’reavictimofthemultitasksocietythathas trainedyourbraintobecomelessefficientbytryingtodotheimpossible.And, ifyou’relikemostpeople,thatissueisexactlywhyyou’rereadingthisbook. Youtellyourselfthatyou’reprioritizingtogetthingsdonemorequickly,butin doingso,you’remissingoutonalotofdetailsandkeepingyourselfinthebad habitratrace. Youmightthinkthatyou’rejustnotanobservantpersonoryoujustdon’thave thatability.Butthetruthisthatyouhavesubconsciouslychosennottoseethe detailsintheworldaroundyou.So,allyouhavetodoismakethatchoiceto wanttobecomemoreaware…andwatchhowitwillchangeyourlife! Hereiswhereyou’regoingtolearnhowtoslowdownandbecomemore efficientineverythingyoudo. “Slowdownandbecomemoreefficient?”Soundslikeanoxymoron,Iknow…. However,it’strue…themoreyoucanlearntoslowdown,themoreyouwill allowyoursubconsciousmindto“reallysee”more–takinginandremembering

everything.Studieshaveshownthatslowingdownandfocusingmoreattention ondetailwillactuallytrainyourbraintoassimilatethegoodhabitofbecoming moreobservantandproductive. Andthat’swhatthisbookwillteachyou… Whatwillyougetoutofit?Thatdependsonhowyoumightanswerthese questions… Doyouknowwhatyourbadhabitsareandwhatyouwantto change? Doyouknowhowtoreplacethosebadhabitswiththenewhabitof beingobservant? Doyoupracticedailymindexercisestoimproveyourobservation anddeductioncapabilities? Doyouknowhowtostimulateyourimaginationandcreativity? Doyouknowthedifferencebetweenseeingandobserving? Doyouknowhowtotuneintothebodylanguageofothers? Doyouwonderhownewinformationconnectswithwhatyou alreadyknow? Doyouconstantlyaskyourselfalotofquestions?  Ifyouanswered“no”toanyoftheabovequestions…thenperhapsyou needtoaskyourselfonereallyimportantquestion…  Doyoureallywanttotrainyourbraintohavethesuperhuman observationanddeductionabilitieslikeSherlockHolmes? Expertstellusthatwemakeanunconsciouschoicetonotseethingsaroundus… somethingsthatcouldreallybenefitusinsomanyways. Learninghowtobecomeobservantwon’thappenovernight,buttheideaisto accumulatetherighthabitsinyourlifestyle–thingsthatyouactuallyfind pleasurein–tostimulateyourabilitytoobserve,deduce,andmaketheright choices. And,itreallyisallaboutthechoiceswemakeinlife. Ifyoulookatahomelessmanonthestreet,andcomparehimwithasuccessful happyperson,whatmakesthedifference?Whenitcomesrightdowntoit,the differencebetweensuccessandfailureisthechoiceswemakealongtheway.

Whilethehomelessmanmayhavefallenintosubstanceabuseorallowedhis tempertoputhiminsubstandardplace,thesuccessfulindividualhasmadebette choicesinhislife.Perhapshemadeadecisiontomarryagoodwomanorto workhiswayuptoabetterpayingposition…. …Orperhapshehasmadethechoiceearlyinlifetoreadallthebookshecan andfillhisbrainwithmoredetailsaroundhimsoheisabletomadebetter choices. Thisbookwillteachyouexercisesthatwilltakenomorethanafewminutes eachdaytoimprovethechoicesyoumakewiththepowerofobservationand deduction.Likemostofus,perhapsyouhaveallowedyourbraintobe“trained” nottolookattheworldaroundyou.Thisbookwillteachyouhowtoretrain youbraintonoticethesmall–butimportant–thingsinlife. Deductionisallaboutlookingattheentiresituation,andthentakingafewpaces backtologicallyreviewbyapplyingcriticalthinking.The“rightchoice”isthe conclusionyouwillcomeupwithbasedonthetruefactsfoundthroughcritical thinking.Thechapteraboutcriticalthinkingwillgointodetailsabouthowtodo this. Mostofuscan’tremembersmalldetailsaboutanygivensituation.Thefactthat Holmescanlogicallycometoaconclusionbasedonrememberingdetailseems likeatraitthatisn’tevenhuman.However,itreallyhastodowithbuildinga knowledgenetworkbyconnectingnewinformationwithwhatyoualready know.Thereisalsoachapterinthisbookdevotedtoincreasingyourmemory bybuildingyourknowledgenetwork. Withalittlepractice,becomingawareandperceptivetomaketherightchoices willbecomesecondnature. Asyoureadthisbook,you’llseementiontothefictionalcharacter,Sherlock Holmsasamodelforbeingabletoobserveanddeducewithperfection.  SherlockHolmesappearedfirstinprintinthelate19thcentury,withstories takingplaceintheperiodof1880to1914.Recognizingthatthiswaslongtime agoandmanyofusmightnotbefamiliarwiththecharacter,youmaywantto insteadthinkofthecharacter“GregoryHouse”fromthemoremodernTV series,“House”,whereHouseismodeledafterSherlockHolms,andWilsonis modeledafterWatson.

 Withthesecharactersinmind,thisbookisdesignedtohelpyouretrainyour braintowardsthatkindofperfectionbycultivatingyourawareness,leadingtoa successful,happierlife.

CHAPTER1 THEPROBLEMWITHMULTITASKING   You’relookingatyouremailsandnoticethatsomeonehassentyouafunny video.Then,asyouopen,youfigureit’stakingtimetodownload,sonow you’recheckingoutFacebook.Thevideohasnowopened,butyou’renot payingattentionanymorebecausenowyoujustnoticedit’syourcousin’s birthdayandyouneversentamessage.Youdaughteriscallingfromtheother room,“Mom,wheredidyouputmycleansocks?”…Youanswer,andtrytoget backtoyouremail…thenyourhusbandcomesinandaskswhendinnerwillbe ready.Atthispointyou’rejustreadytoexplode,andyouhaven’teven gottenanythingaccomplished. Soundfamiliar? Mostofusliketotakeprideinbeingabletomultitaskwithseveralplatesinthe air…what’sonemore,right? Unfortunately,thecurrentresearchshowsthat,notonlyismultitaskingadrain onyourpsychologicalandemotionalwellbeing,it’salsodangeroustoyour health!“SoI’lljusttakebloodpressurepillstogeteverythingdoneatonce”, you’rethinking.Butah...you’rereallynotgettingasmuchdoneasyouthink. Asmuchasyoumightwanttobelievethatmultitaskingisthewaytosuccessin the21stcentury,it’sactuallytheverythingthat’sholdingmostofusback. Thisisthefirstthingweneedtoaddresswhenyou’rethinkingaboutbuilding yourbraintoworklikeSherlockHolmes’brain,becausehewasn’tevenfaced withthatproblem.Sonaturally,weneedtogetthisbadhabitoutoftheway beforeprogressingforward. Bytheway,sincethestoriesofHolmeswereinprintsolongago,andmanyof usmaynotfamiliarwiththecharacter.Youmayinsteadwanttothinkofthe character“GregoryHouse”fromthemoremodernTVseries,“House”,where thecharacterofHouseismodeledafterSherlockHolms,andWilsonismodeled afterWatson. RememberhowHousewassoperceptivethatheseemedtohavea“mind reading”power”?Thatkindofbrainpower,withoutthecockyattitude,iswhat

mostofusdesiretoday.Trainingyourbraintoadvancetowardsthiskindof perfectionistotallypossible,andit’swhatthisbookisdesignedtohelpyoudo. Theeffectofmultitaskingonyourbrain… Withthe21stcentury,thepoweroftheinternethasemerged.Asusefulasthis toolmightbe,ithascreatedagenerationofmultitaskerswhobelievethatadding onemorethingtoyourplateisaseasyasopeninganotherwindowonyour computerscreen. Whenyouthinkyou’redoing“twothingsatonce”,therealityisthatyourbrain isforcedtoswitchbetweenthinkingoneway,andthenthinkinganother. Psychologistscallthis“serialtasking”ratherthanmultitasking,becauseyour brainisswitchingfromoneactivitytothenext,andbackagain. Sinceourbrainsarenotbuiltfor“snappingback”intoplacelikearubberband, theresultisthatittakesalittletimetofocuswheneveryougetbacktoyourtask athand. Studieshavefoundthat… Multitaskingstuntsemotionalwellbeing. Weallknowsomeonewhobringstheircellphonetothedinnertable.And, insteadofcarryingonthedinnerconversationwiththepersonyou’rewith(like everyoneusedtodo),theybegintextingthepersonontheirphonewhojustsent themamessage.Thisharmsyouremotionalintelligence.Yourbrainis focusingonsomeoneelseratherthanthepersonyou’rewith,displayingrude behavior.Whenleftunharnessed,thiscansnowballintomoreemotional problems.Furthermore,yourbraincan’thandleeverything.Whenyouhave20 tabsopenonyourcomputer,withlunchonyourdesk,andyou’rechattingon skypewithyourbestfriend,thiscanultimatelyhaveapullonyouremotional wellbeing,creatingadifficultpersonality. Multitaskinghindersourabilitytomanageaffairs. Contrarytopopularbelief,thosewhoare“experiencedmultitaskers”areactually worseatmultitaskingthanthosewhousuallytaketheirtimewithonetaskbefore engagingthenext. CliffordNass,acommunicationsprofessoratStanford,conductedastudyabout

thisphenomenon.The“experiencedmultitasker”actuallywilltendtousemuch largerpartsofthebrainforataskthatcouldbedonemoreeffectivelywhen usinganisolatedportionofthebrain.Hisstudyconcludedthat,themoreyou multitask,thelessyourbrainisabletofilteroutunimportantinformation. Ourbrainsnaturallydothis,bytheway.Youmighthavefiveactsinfrontof youatthecircus,butyourfocusisprimarilyononlyonething.Wehavea naturaltendencyto“filterout”thatwhichourbraindeemsunimportant.When youglanceatamenu,yourattentionismostlyononesectionwhereyourinteres lays–Eitherthedietsection,thelowcostsection,ortheseafood.Yougetthe idea. Thisisanimportantdiscovery,because,ifyoureverydayhabitsincludejumping fromonetasktoanother,constant“serialtasking”astheycallit,you’reactually creatingmentalhavoconyourself. Multitaskinghinderscreativity… Theabilitytobecreativestemsfromfocusingyourattentionandremembering thingsthatmighthappenduringthedaytosparkyourcreativity.Youmight havehadanextraordinaryexperiencehappentoyou–onemightevencalla miracle.However,whenyougettowork,you’redistracted,andbeginfocusing onseveralotherthingsatonce.Afterwork,it’stimetobeginthatbookyou wantedtowrite,andallyouhaveisamentalblock. Peoplewhoarehighlyfocusedonwhatthey’rereadingtendtobemoreefficient atcompletingtasks. Iusedtothinkthatbecomingsoengrossedinabookthatyoudon’thearyour friendtalkingisafault.However,thatwasbeforeIwasawareofarecent study.Itappearsthattheabilityto“tunein”todistractionswillslowyoudown! Whencomputersfirstcameoutwiththewindowfunctionthatenablestheusers to“workonseveralthingsatonce”,manypeoplebelieveditwasmore productive.And,itdoesmakesense.You’dthinkthatifyou’reworkingon severalthingsatonce,youcouldaccomplishmore. However,ourbrainsaredesignedtoprioritizetodowhatevertaskismost importantatthetime,andthenswitchtothenexttask.Thebrainperformstwo functionshere:“goalshifting”(thedecisiontoprioritizethetask),and“role

activation”(changingthegearsinyourbraintoadjusttothetaskyou’reworking on).Inthecaseofserialtasking,DavidMeyer’sstudyfrom2001concludedtha overallproductivitycanbereducedbyasmuchas40%,sinceeverytimeyour brain“switchesgears”,it’scostingyoutime. Ifyoudon’tbelieveme,trythisself-test… Takeapieceofpaperanddrawtwolineshorizontally. Letafriendtimeyouasyouconductthefollowingtasks: Onlineone,write“Iknowhowtomultitask.” Onlinetwo,writethenumbers1-20insequence. Thosetwotasks,whendonefirstone,thentheother,usuallywilltakeabout20 seconds. Now,tryagainbyusingyoursuper-dupermultitaskingability. Writeoneletterononeline,thenonenumberonthenextline.i.e.,“I”onone, “1”onlinetwo;“k”onlineone,“2”onlinetwo,andsoon. Youwillfindthattheresultnotonlyshowsthatthetimewillbeatleastdouble theinitial20seconds,butyouwillalsomostlikelyfindmistakesorsloppy writing.  Whatcanyoudoaboutit? Ten“stopmultitasking”tipstohelpyou… Quicklyassesseverythingyouneedtodo,anddeterminepriority. Eliminatedistractions. Organizeyourtasksona“todo”listanddeterminewhichtodo first. Decidetocompleteonetaskfirst,andgiveyourselfatimelimit. Payattentiontohowmuchmoreefficientlyyouhavecompleted thattask. Keepanotepadhandytowritedowninterruptions–thingstobe donelater,tomakesureyou’renotswitchinggearsunnecessarily.

Haveonlyoneinboxforyourpaperwork,andoneforyouremail. Thiswillkeepyoufromhavingtolookinseveraldifferentplaces toseewhatneedstobedone. Breakuptheplanofwhatyouwillbedoingwithintheday,witha “block”forurgentstuff,andsmallerblocksoftimefor miscellaneoustasks. Dowhat’smostimportantfirst.Trytogetthetwoorthreemost importanttasksonyourlistdonebeforenoon.Thiswillgiveyou lessstressintheafternoon,withmorefreetimeforwhatyou reallywanttodo. Whenyoufeelthatdistractionandwanttocheckyouremail becauseyoujustheardyourphonegooff,stopyourself.Takea deepbreathandcontinuethetaskathand. Inbetweentasks,monitoryouremailandtasklist.Ifindit helpfultocolorcodeincomingemailstogivemeanimmediate flagthat“I’mawaitingaresponse”,or“I’mawaitingapproval”.I deletespamimmediatelysoasnottobedistractedmorethan necessary. Youmightfinditdifficultatfirst,butonceyourealizehowmuchmore productiveyouare,you’llhavetheincentivetotryharderonmakingsureyour focusisonlyononethingatatime.Thenextfewchapterswillgointomore depthabouthowtobecomemoreawareandobservant.



CHAPTER2:

TAKINGNOTESTOIMPROVE OBSERVATION 

Mostofusdon’tpaycompleteattentiontoanythingaroundus.Asmentionedin thelastchapter,thisislargelybecauseofmultitaskingintoday’ssociety. However,takingnotesisonepositivehabittoacquirethatwillaimyouinthe rightdirection. Starttaking“fieldnotes”throughouttheday… Note-takingisagoodhabitacquiredbymanysuccessfulbusinesspeople.And,i makessense.Rememberinschoolhowyouwouldrememberthingsbetterwhen youwrotethemdown?Ifyouweretosimplylistentoalectureandnottake notes,theaveragepersonretainsonlyabout10%,longterm.(Thisisbasedona studyofstudentsretainingseminarinformation;reported90%forgottenpoints after14days.) "Werememberwhatweunderstand;weunderstandonlywhatwepayattention to;wepayattentiontowhatwewant." - EdwardBolles Thequoteabovetakesmentiontoourdifferentkindsofmemory.Takingfield noteswillhelptoensureunderstanding,andyoucan’tpossiblytakenotesunless you’repayingcloseattention. Howmemoryworks… Asyoumayalreadyknow,wehavebothshorttermandlongtermmemory. Shorttermmemory… Didyouevertrytomemorizeaphonenumber?Youknowhowchallengingthis istoholdinyourmemoryforanylengthoftime.Theaveragepersoncanhold onlysevenpiecesofinformationatagiventime;hence,wehave7-digitphone numbers.Putaforeignareacodebeforethenumber,andseehowmuchmore

difficultitis.Andinformationthatneedstobelearnedhastobetransferredto longtermmemory. Longtermmemory… Thisiswhateverinformationyouhavelearnedandcanremember.The transformationprocessfromshorttolongtermmemoryhappensoneoftwo ways... Throughrepetition,“rotelearning” Throughunderstanding,(connectingarelationshipwiththenew informationtowhatyoualreadyknow) Bothwaysoflearningareeffective;however,studiesconductedonlearningand memoryalwaysrevealthatgoingbackandreviewingtheinformationlearned makesasubstantialdifference.And,this,ofcourse,isthereasonfortaking notes.Expertstellusthatthebesttimetoreviewyournotesiswithinadayor twoaftertheevent. Astudyconductedonforgettingtextbookmaterialwithstudentsrevealedabout 17%retentionafter63days.Theproblemwithrememberingcoursematerialis thatwetendtoonlyrememberthatwhichisofinteresttous.Studiesshowthat whenwecanlinkwhatwediscovertoalongtermgoal,it’smoreapttostayin ourconsciousmind. Forexample,ifyou’rerememberingnotesfromschool,trytoimaginehowwhat you’relearningcanbeimplementedinyourfuturecareer.Ifyou’rewritinga book,thentrytotakesnoteswiththeideaofwhatyouwouldwriteabout.  Keystoremembering… Payattentionbychoice.Wetendtoonlylistentothingswe’re interestedin,sojustmakethechoicetochoosetoremember. Usevisualization:Createapictureinyourmindofwhatyou’re tryingtoremember Tiethenewinformationtowhatyoualreadyknow.Thisputsthe ideaina“file”inyourbrain.SherlockHolmesreferredtothebrain asthe“attic”ofknowledge.Makesureyour“brainattic”isneat andorderly. RepetitionandReview:Thisiswherenote-takingcomesin.Make

sureyoureviewyournotesandpictureagaininyourmindwhat you’velearned.Re-phaseinyourownwordssothatitmakes perfectsensetoyou. Ifyou’rethekindofpersonwhosemindtendstowander...