I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

Maria Konnikova's Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h4 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
"acquired by long and patient study" [STUD]</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhne_SCpeFlW18GAajh2pf4-_b6pan2GWMWdYQ82INMmv2JHeXwJV6vp9x0s4m_Cxx-IqyBjl5FjENkO_SOd0MCtw3_ayr12c5xVuDdqYwG7_SZxbi7yeR9QEAATNkp_YDj2a9zb1qKCJcQ/s1600/mastermind_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhne_SCpeFlW18GAajh2pf4-_b6pan2GWMWdYQ82INMmv2JHeXwJV6vp9x0s4m_Cxx-IqyBjl5FjENkO_SOd0MCtw3_ayr12c5xVuDdqYwG7_SZxbi7yeR9QEAATNkp_YDj2a9zb1qKCJcQ/s1600/mastermind_cover.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Examining the "Science of Deduction and Analysis" is a singular activity - many Holmesian scholars have managed to find interesting nuances when focusing on the Great Detective's  skills. With the plethora of Holmes-related media in recent years, it would seem that  reconciling Holmes' unique talents to modern-day psychology might be a bit daunting.<br />
<br />
Thankfully, we now have Maria Konnikova's <b><a href="https://amzn.to/2GiE2Uy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes</i></a></b> (available on Amazon) a fascinating book that not only marries Victorian detection to current-day thought, but manages to provide an illuminating, insightful work for both Sherlockians and casual fans alike.   <b><i>Mastermind</i></b> focuses on how much of what we understand about learning, decision-making, and deductive ability can be derived from Holmesian thought (as expressed in the canon).<br />
<br />
Each discussion has an underpinning in the canon, from how "facts" can influence our first impressions (see Mary Morstan) to the proper care and maintenance of the "brain attic", <i><b>Mastermind</b> </i>takes much of its lead from key stories in the canon. (In fact, towards the end <i><b>Mastermind</b> </i>cleverly demonstrates how Holmes' cognitive abilities have developed over time, citing both early and later Conan Doyle stories).<br />
<br />
<script type="text/javascript">
amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "scottmonty-20";
amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual";
amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart";
amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon";
amzn_assoc_region = "US";
amzn_assoc_design = "enhanced_links";
amzn_assoc_asins = "B00KXCWWDI";
amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit";
amzn_assoc_linkid = "fe5c90232373ba4dc37c79c26596c01d";
</script><br />
<script src="//z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US"></script><br />
<br />
For both Sherlockians and the casual reader, <i><b>Mastermind</b> </i>is relatively easy to comprehend, avoiding complicated language for an extremely simple approach. The final chapter - which outlines <i>precisely</i> how to attain Holmesian skills in deduction - is well worth the cost of the book. But it's the chapters leading up to it, mixing familiar (and some unusual) references to the canon, that provide the bulk of <i><b>Mastermind's</b> </i>value, placing Holmes' abilities in the realm of possibility.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Mastermind</b> </i>may not necessarily lead you to consider a career in being a consulting detective....but provides one of the best pieces of both Sherlockian and psychological scholarship. This is a must-read for the serious Holmes scholar.   <br />
<br />
You can hear our interview with Maria on <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose54" target="_blank">Episode 54: How to Think Like Sherlock</a>:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/134354965&color=ff5500" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
<i>When you make purchases from the links we share, it provides us with a stream of revenue to help keep this site running. Thank you for your generosity.</i><br />
<br />
--<br />
<br /></div>

Maria Konnikova's Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes

"acquired by long and patient study" [STUD] Examining the "Science of Deduction and Analysis" is a singular activi...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Sherlockian Lawyer Takes on Conan Doyle Estate

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<b>"Don't imagine that you can bully me" [CHAS]</b></h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVkxyLb54GSObrSUl9CiKCzwa1lJ5pDmr1BF-V6x0amv-YIJevs0ANBLfF6kYB-6T0JNiE1gGH70SLxS69waumjXZrZ_GxR6UWtp4ZDoLbokhbx8hE6xsAFKqWKH2tp5qnfV2eCKZqMZo/s1600/NAVA+surprise.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="811" data-original-width="1280" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVkxyLb54GSObrSUl9CiKCzwa1lJ5pDmr1BF-V6x0amv-YIJevs0ANBLfF6kYB-6T0JNiE1gGH70SLxS69waumjXZrZ_GxR6UWtp4ZDoLbokhbx8hE6xsAFKqWKH2tp5qnfV2eCKZqMZo/s640/NAVA+surprise.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
It isn't often one gets a ringside seat at a legal-literary battle royal, but it would seem that we're about to bear witness to some activity in that particular area.<br />
<br />
Of course, you'll recall that recent legal battles in England have revolved around Undershaw, Conan Doyle's home for about a decade that included when he wrote <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>. We've covered that topic extensively here - <b><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2011/09/signature-is-typewritten-iden_11.html">click for more background on that topic</a></b>.<br />
<br />
But this is wholly different.<br />
<br />
The noted Sherlockian scholar, Baker Street Irregular and prominent attorney <b><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2011/03/episode-31-chat-with-les-klinger.html">Leslie Klinger</a></b>, editor of <b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/2tlhWNU" target="_blank">The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes</a></i></b>, <b><i><a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/shrl.html">The Sherlock Holmes Reference Library</a></i></b> and <b><i><a href="https://bakerstreetirregulars.com/?s=grand+game">The Grand Game: A Celebration of Sherlockian Scholarship</a></i></b>, to name a few, has filed a civil lawsuit against the <a href="http://www.conandoyleestate.co.uk/">Conan Doyle Estate</a> to determine that the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are in fact in the public domain.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6321981775136876837" name="more"></a>Currently, the so-called estate undertakes high-handed legal action to levy royalties and other payments from authors who use the characters in their own works. This is despite the fact that there are only 10 stories in the entire Canon that are still under copyright protection (in the United States). Klinger, for one, will not stand for this bullying, and has formally filed suit and issued a press release.<br />
<br />
We'll allow you to read directly from the press release:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A civil action was filed today in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate by Sherlock Holmes scholar Leslie S. Klinger. Klinger seeks to have the Court determine that the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John H. Watson are no longer protected by federal copyright laws and that writers, filmmakers, and others are free to create new stories about Holmes, Watson, and others of their circle without paying license fees to the current owners of the remaining copyrights. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Klinger says that the litigation came about because he and Laurie R. King, best-selling author of the "Mary Russell" series of mysteries that also feature Sherlock Holmes, were co-editing a new book called "In the Company of Sherlock Holmes." This collection of stories by major mystery/sci-fi/fantasy authors inspired by the Holmes tales, is to be published by Pegasus Books. "The Conan Doyle Estate contacted our publisher," says Klinger, "and implied that if the Estate wasn't paid a license fee, they'd convince the major distributors not to sell the book. Our publisher was, understandably, concerned, and told us that the book couldn't come out unless this was resolved. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“It is true that some of Conan Doyle's stories about Holmes are still protected by the U.S. copyright laws. However, the vast majority of the stories that Conan Doyle wrote are not. The characters of Holmes, Watson, and others are fully established in those fifty 'public-domain' stories. Under U.S. law, this should mean that anyone is free to create new stories about Holmes and Watson. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"This isn't the first time the Estate has put pressure on creators," Klinger adds. "It is the first time anyone has stood up to them. In the past, many simply couldn't afford to fight or to wait for approval, and have given in and paid off the Estate for 'permission.' I'm asking the Court to put a permanent stop to this kind of bullying. Holmes and Watson belong to the world, not to some distant relatives of Arthur Conan Doyle." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Klinger denies that he was trying to strip the Estate of its proper rights. "The Estate still owns copyrights in the U.S. on 10 of the stories about Holmes—some of the stories that appeared in The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes. As a lawyer myself, I respect those rights, and in fact I licensed them when I published my New Annotated Sherlock Holmes." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
All of the remaining 10 stories will be in the public domain after 2022, 95 years after the last was published. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Klinger is represented by Scott M. Gilbert of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLC in Chicago, who serves as litigation counsel, and Jonathan Kirsch in Los Angeles, an intellectual property attorney specializing in publishing issues. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Les Klinger is the ideal plaintiff to undertake this praiseworthy effort to confirm the public-domain status of the iconic characters and settings of the Sherlock Holmes Canon and remove the cloud of fear, uncertainty and doubt that the Estate has used to scare off others,” says Kirsch. “As a world-renowned expert and an acclaimed author, he is willing to champion a cause that others have been too timid to undertake. Authors, movie-makers and other creative people owe him a debt of gratitude.” </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Klinger and Laurie R. King previously edited <b><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LROX9C/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004LROX9C&linkCode=as2&tag=thebakerstree-20">A Study in Sherlock: Stories Inspired by the Sherlock Holmes Canon</a></i></b> (Random House, 2011), a collection of new stories written by Lee Child, Neil Gaiman, Margaret Maron, and other contemporary writers. Their second collection, In the Company of Sherlock Holmes, will feature new stories by Sara Paretsky, Michael Connelly, Lev Grossman, Larry Niven, Val McDermid, Denise Mina, Cornelia Funke, Jeffery Deaver, and other major writers. Some of the stories are new adventures of Holmes and Watson; others are about people inspired or influenced by the Holmes stories of Conan Doyle. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
For more information, see the web site <b><a href="http://free-sherlock.com/">Free-Sherlock.com</a></b> or write to Mr. Klinger at <a href="mailto:mail@lesliesklinger.com">mail@lesliesklinger.com</a>.</blockquote>
<br />
The formal legal documents can be found here:<br />
<div style="display: block; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;">
<div style="display: block; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 14px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;">
<a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/125645482/KLINGER-vs-CONAN-DOYLE-ESTATE-LTD#from_embed" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View KLINGER vs. CONAN DOYLE ESTATE LTD on Scribd">KLINGER vs. CONAN DOYLE ESTATE</a> </div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488" data-auto-height="true" frameborder="0" height="600" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/125645482/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true&access_key=key-lj95nyueopanaxxrgja" title="KLINGER vs. CONAN DOYLE ESTATE LTD" width="100%"></iframe></span></span><br />
<br />We're happy to let the legal system sort out all of the specifics, and we appreciate Mr. Klinger's measured approach - note that he still respects the copyright of the works that are under such protection. But at 125 years as part of the public consciousness, it doesn't seem reasonable to expect that the characters should be under the same level of protection.<br /> <br /> Michael Buffer, the famous ringside announcer, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Buffer#Trademark">trademarked the phrase "Let's get ready to rumble!"</a> In doing so, he managed to net <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Weekend/lets-ready-rumble-meet-man-catchphrase/story?id=9022704">over $400 million by licensing the phrase</a>. But as Holmes has been with us for a century and a quarter and the famous profile, pipe, hat and even utterances of "No sh*t, Sherlock" are part of our public consciousness, should those things also be subject to the heavy hand of the so-called estate?<br /> <br /> We prefer to think not. We wish Mr. Klinger the best in his endeavors. What's your take?<br /> <br /> Feel free to join the discussion below or via the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23FreeSherlock&src=hash">#FreeSherlock</a> hashtag on Twitter.<br />
<br /><br /></div>
</div>

Sherlockian Lawyer Takes on Conan Doyle Estate

"Don't imagine that you can bully me" [CHAS] It isn't often one gets a ringside seat at a legal-literary battle roya...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Remembering Dr. James E. Smith II

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"winner of the Jackson Prize" [HOUN]</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCqjd1JWe8uq5IasMVK7RudY2LmBEU16lNdSUE0RVDaFPYTlcOnlx432hn8LODBWIZgp36RfXAaDzIl0rp6WEzIJNr81pDSB1LO1loHZy9PXgBYb0IbeqGWZpOtRTFlqnfP9p4xHnEXbw/s1600/4181737203_6c651b0dd8_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCqjd1JWe8uq5IasMVK7RudY2LmBEU16lNdSUE0RVDaFPYTlcOnlx432hn8LODBWIZgp36RfXAaDzIl0rp6WEzIJNr81pDSB1LO1loHZy9PXgBYb0IbeqGWZpOtRTFlqnfP9p4xHnEXbw/s400/4181737203_6c651b0dd8_m.jpg" width="291" /></a></div>
<br />
Dr. James E. Smith, II, BSI ("Winner of the Jackson Prize") died in Maine on December 24, 2012 at the age of 90.<br />
<br />
He served in the Army during WWII and was honorably discharged as a Corporal on December 24, 1946, exactly 66 years before his death. Dr. Smith was a psychiatrist for the Baltimore County court system and after his retirement, moved to Port St. Lucie, Florida.<br />
<br />
He enjoyed classical music, opera, the Baltimore Orioles, crossword puzzles, and singing in his church choir. When his children were young he listened to the Saturday afternoon Metropolitan Opera broadcasts with the volume turned way up -- inspiring one of his children to a lifelong appreciation of music, and driving the other out of the room.<br />
<br />
Jim was Napoleon 178 in The Six Napoleons of Baltimore and gave several solidly researched talks at their annual Saturday with Sherlock Holmes at the Pratt Library. He was also a member of Watson's Tin Box for many years.<br />
<br />
At his memorial service his daughter read several passages from the Canon, saying that her father loved the world of Sherlock Holmes. On display at the service was a Six Napoleons of Baltimore tee shirt.<br />
<br />
Jim Smith was invested into The Baker Street Irregulars in 1998 as "Winner of the Jackson Prize."<br />
<br />
<br />
--

Remembering Dr. James E. Smith II

"winner of the Jackson Prize" [HOUN] Dr. James E. Smith, II, BSI ("Winner of the Jackson Prize") died in Maine on D...

+ Read more »

by Francine Kitts

Remembering Robert Burr, BSI

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h4 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>"His friend the lascar" [TWIS]</b></h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmuoGZtutekF0cURHLI-4xuv9bXAPzpaLLJaR2E3o2WGwUBFKqEwzs0pGw7EFH768XVYMJZOfsVuwYPo1G6KZvCm5rUmCK7OA4kjjLNBN-goSgg-gwibPaZtvN_r3a5SspW88DQ3raLTAV/s1600/Bob+Burr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmuoGZtutekF0cURHLI-4xuv9bXAPzpaLLJaR2E3o2WGwUBFKqEwzs0pGw7EFH768XVYMJZOfsVuwYPo1G6KZvCm5rUmCK7OA4kjjLNBN-goSgg-gwibPaZtvN_r3a5SspW88DQ3raLTAV/s320/Bob+Burr.jpg" width="244" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<i>Editor's note</i>: Brad Keefauver, BSI ("Winwood Reade") wrote this remembrance of his good friend Robert Burr, who passed beyond the Reichenbach on January 9, 2013.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt;">
On May 28, 1992, Bob Burr got a phone call from Tom Stix, the head of the Baker Street Irregulars at that time. Tom offered Bob the editorial reins of <span style="font-style: italic;"><b><a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/">The Baker Street Journal</a></b>. </span>After talking to Philip Shreffler, who was ending his seven year run as the journal's editor, Bob decided a few days later, not to take the job.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt;">
To many of those who encountered Robert C. Burr, BSI ("The Rascally Lascar"), in various internet venues, the thought of Bob Burr being in at the helm of America's greatest Sherlockian publishing legacy has to seem a little insane at best. His persistence in horrible jokes, non-politically correct comments, and terse, often sharp reactions annoyed more than a few, and got him kicked off of the <a href="http://www.sherlockian.net/hounds/"><b>Hounds of the Internet</b></a> more often than any other. But the internet Burr of later years was only one part of that complex fellow who was also a great host, a steadfast scion leader, and a careful perfectionist when it came to the written word.  He died on January 9, 2013, in Peoria, Illinois, at age 82.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt;">
The simple facts on Bob are these, as he wrote them up for <a href="http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pjstar/obituary.aspx?pid=162279095"><b>his obituary</b></a> himself:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
He was born June 21, 1930 in Paterson, NJ. to Howard E. and Helen (Matthews) Burr. He married JoAnn Taggart in Ames, IA, on July 1, 1953. They divorced in 1963. There were no children of the marriage. His life from 1964 to 2004 was deeply enriched by his Significant Other, Lucy Sommerfield, until her death in 2004.<br />
<br />
Bob received his B.S. degree in chemistry from Rutgers University in 1952, and his M.S. in chemistry from Iowa State University in 1955. He was an instructor in chemistry at Bradley University from 1955-1961, and a chemist at Peoria's USDA Lab from 1962-1988.<br />
<br />
His two abiding interests were barbershop style singing, and the world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes.</blockquote>
<br />
<div style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt;">
As always, Bob left out a lot. In the 1960s, he was the local chairman of NICAP (the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena), looking into UFO sightings. In 1977, after waiting almost two years for local science fiction author (and Bob's neighbor) Philip Jose Farmer to start a promised scion society, Bob called the first meeting of Peoria's <b><a href="http://www.sherlockpeoria.net/Hansom_pages/Hansomsmain.html">Hansoms of John Clayton</a></b> and held it at his home. He published the society's lively monthly newsletter, <span style="font-style: italic;">Plugs & Dottles,</span> from 1978 to 1998. Beginning in 1981, the club's triennial journal, <span style="font-style: italic;">Wheelwrightings,</span> was was of the few scion journals to be typeset in the days before desktop publishing, a luxury that Bob quietly paid out of his own pocket. He took over that journal's editorship in 1983 and held those reins until its final issue in January 1992. When offered the BSJ editorship a few months later, he was not ready to end his editorial retirement for that even greater responsibility, which his sense of perfectionism would have made him work doubly hard on. In 2011, a collection of pun-filled tales he had printed over the years was published, in book form with the help of Philip K. Jones, under the title <span style="font-style: italic;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/178092044X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=178092044X&linkCode=as2&tag=thebakerstree-20">The Punishment of Sherlock Holmes</a></b>.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt;">
Bob Burr was invested in the Baker Street Irregulars in 1987, having never attended an official BSI dinner nor attending any after that, except for the appearance of a life-sized photo of him (lovingly nicknamed "Robbie") in the photo of the 1989 dinner. An attempt to collect for that attendance was made by Tom Stix, as well as chastising him for wearing a flannel shirt to such a formal affair. Even though he did make it to a few midwestern Sherlockian conferences of note, Bob was well known for not leaving Peoria, Illinois. He still managed to touch a lot of lives.</div>
<br />
<br />
Feel free to leave your own memory of Bob here.<br />
<br />
--</div>