Sherlock Holmes and Mental Models

In A Study in Scarlet, Dr. Watson criticized an article written by—as it turned out—Sherlock Holmes. He thought The Art of Deduction to be utter nonsense.

This prompted Sherlock to tell Watson about his profession and, more importantly, how he acquired his skills and the lengths he went to hone them.

Sherlock Holmes is the only consulting detective in the world. He uses his skills in the art of deduction to set other detectives straight.

So what’s his secret?

When you’ve encountered countless cases, it’s rare for a new one to defy all known patterns.

Patterns emerge, even in the strangest cases.

As Ray Dalio says in Principles, you should learn the general principles so new things can be reduced to “another one of those.”

This is also what makes chess players skilled: the accumulation of patterns. It becomes a game of who has the most patterns readily available.

Charlie Munger promotes the acquisition of mental models—a broad variety, at that—which help you become wiser and more capable.

“You must know the big ideas in the big disciplines and use the routinely — all of them, not just a few. Most people are trained in one model — economics, for example — and try to solve all problems in one way. You know the old saying: ‘To the man with a hammer, the world looks like a nail.’ This is a dumb way of handling problems.”
— Charlie Munger, Poor Charlie’s Almanack

Mental models and principles have certainly worked for these men and women.

They’ll work for you, too.