Are Sherlock and John on the same intellectual field?

It's probably worth mentioning that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle encountered a teacher in medical school who was known for making unusually insightful observations. For instance, this teacher met a patient in front of the medical school class and, before any words were exchanged, surmised that the patient had recently returned from a tour of duty as an infrantryman in Afghanistan, on the basis of the facts that he wore his hat inside the building, that he had a tan line on his face that had a certain angle to it, and that he wore certain kinds of clothes and carried himself in a certain manner.

So basically he split this real life medical doctor into the characters of Holmes and Watson. The kind of thought process that he referred to as "deduction," even though that's not really the correct term for it, is the kind of thinking that goes on in routine medicine. I.e., here is a group of disparate observations, every fact implies a set of possible causes, and the collection of facts as a whole implies one most likely cause. And of course it's also the kind of thinking that goes on in detective stories.

I think that combination is a lot of what made the Holmes stories so successful. They take the acumen of a particularly incredible doctor, supplies it to someone who isn't a doctor, but gives that character a foil who is a doctor. In the stories, the difference in their apparent abilities is just the basis for providing an explanation for the reader. Because Holmes is so much better and faster at "deduction" than Watson, the reader always has an opportunity to hear the explanation spelled out.

IMO, the tv series is able to expand on that basis because everyone is so familiar with the original stories and plot devices. So they can portray Watson becoming better and better at understanding and engaging in Holmes's thought process, as the audience becomes more capable at following what's going on. It's also a bit of character exploration and character development. I.e., Holmes appreciates and respects Watson because Watson can keep up with him and even surpass him from time to time.

There's also the matter of confidence. Holmes is always confident, even when he's wrong. But as soon as he discoverers he is wrong, he is just as confident in his next "deduction." It's something that comes off as abrasive to Watson at first, but it also serves as a model for Watson to become more confident in himself.

/r/Sherlock Thread