“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly, one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.”
Sherlock Holmes may be a fictional detective, but there is still much to learn from him. Arthur Conan Doyle paid close attention to detail when writing his short stories, which makes the insights I gained from reading them unique.
Keynotes
“I consider that a man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now, the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these, he has a large assortment and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it, there comes a time when, for every addition of knowledge, you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.”
We live in a world overflowing with information, and it can be challenging not to pay attention to everything happening around us. It is important to be selective about the information we consume. One way to do this is to prioritize the information based on its relevance to our job or other responsibilities.
“It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.”
At some point, everyone has made a quick decision or judgment without having all the information. Sometimes we get lucky and make the right choice, but other times the consequences can be disastrous.
“It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
Take a breath and just accept what the truth is, no matter how insane it might be.
“No man burdens his mind with small matters unless he has some very good reason for doing so.”
Book Review 3.5 Stars
Erika Funny 
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