According to Holmes' plan, we met again the next day and went to see the rental house at No. 221B Baker Street that he mentioned when we first met. The house had a spacious and well-ventilated living room and two comfortable bedrooms.

The bedroom is pleasantly furnished and has two large windows, so the room is very bright and light. From every aspect, this apartment is very satisfactory. We rent it together and share it between the two of us.

The rent was more suitable. So, we rented it on the spot. That night, I packed my bags from the previous apartment and moved into the newly rented house.

Early the next morning, Holmes moved the travel bags and several boxes in. We unpacked our bags and began to decorate the room. We were busy for two days. After arranging as much as possible, we gradually settled down and became accustomed to this new environment.

Also becoming more and more familiar.

To be honest, Holmes is not an easy person to get along with. He is calm and calm, and his life is very regular. He rarely goes to bed after 10 o'clock every night. Early in the morning, before I get up, he finishes breakfast and goes out.

He often spent the whole day in the anatomy room or the laboratory; occasionally, he also walked to far away places, and the place he went seemed to be the slums of London. When he was working happily

At that time, his abundant energy was absolutely unmatched by anyone; however, he would often have the opposite energy and lie on the sofa in the living room all day long, quietly and almost all the time.

He didn't say a word. Whenever he was like this, I could always find something blank and lost in his eyes. If he hadn't been so controlled and rigorous in his daily life, I would really suspect that he was addicted to taking drugs.

A few weeks have passed, and my interest in him and his curiosity about his life goals have deepened day by day. His appearance is eye-catching at first glance. He is over 1.86 inches tall and very thin.

, so he looks particularly tall; his eyes are bright and alert (except when he shows a blank expression); his aquiline nose is thin and long, making him look very decisive and alert; his jaw is prominent and square, indicating that

He is a very perseverant person. Although his hands are stained with ink, chemicals and other things, his movements are unusually skilled and he can pay attention to every detail. Because he uses those delicate and fragile

When he was using the laboratory equipment, I often stood by to observe his actions.

If I admit that Holmes aroused my intense curiosity, and that I have constantly tried in every possible way to break through his almost silent barrier of silence, then you may think that I am a hopeless meddler.

Guy. However, before you draw such a conclusion, please think about it for me: my life is so boring and empty; in such a living state, there is so little that can attract my attention. Unless the weather

It was very sunny, otherwise my health would not allow me to go outside; at the same time, I did not have any close friends to visit me, which would enrich my monotonous daily life. Under these circumstances, I naturally became interested in the surrounding people.

The little secrets surrounding my companions aroused great interest, and I devoted most of my energy and time to uncovering them.

Holmes was not conducting medical research. When he answered my question, he confirmed that Stanford's view on this point was correct. Holmes did not appear to be studying a specific subject in order to obtain a scientific degree.

It is like taking any other way to make his research results enter the academic world. However, his great enthusiasm for certain aspects of research work is very amazing. In the face of some new and weird fields of knowledge, his knowledge appears so profound,

Therefore, he often makes surprising statements. It is certain that if it were not for a certain established goal, a person would never conduct experimental work so diligently in order to obtain extremely accurate knowledge. Because a person who has no books and no goals will never

It is difficult for people to strive for perfection in their knowledge. Unless there is some good reason, no one will be willing to spend so much energy on small tasks.

Holmes's poor knowledge is as amazing as his vast knowledge. For example, he has almost no knowledge of common sense in philosophy, politics, and modern literature. When I quote Thomas Carlyle's article

At that time, he stupidly asked me: "Who is Carlyle and what are his outstanding contributions?" What surprised me most was that I accidentally discovered that he had no idea about the Copernican theory and the composition of the solar system.

.A literate person in the 19th century did not understand the simple principle that the earth revolves around the sun. This strange thing is really puzzling to me.

Noticing my surprised look, Holmes smiled and said: "You are surprised, aren't you? Even if I understand these cultural knowledge, I will try my best to forget them!"

"Forget them?"

He explained: "You have to understand, I think that the human brain is originally like an empty 'little attic', and some practical furniture should be selectively put in it. Only stupid people will put all kinds of furniture into it."

junk is put in without choice. If this is the case, the cultural knowledge that is useful to people will be squeezed out of the 'small attic'; or, it will just be mixed with many other items. Therefore, when taking

It's not easy when you're doing it. Therefore, a person who can work really has to be careful when he chooses to put some practical items into his 'little attic'-like brain.

.Except for the tools that are useful at work, he cannot bring in any useless things, and these useful tools are all complete and well organized. If you think that the walls of this 'small attic' are elastic and can be expanded and contracted at will.

, then you are totally wrong. Please believe what I say, when you add new cultural knowledge, you will forget some of the things you were familiar with before. Therefore, the most important thing is not to let

The useless cultural knowledge crowds out the useful cultural knowledge."

"But what I'm talking about is about the solar system!" I argued.

He interrupted me with some boredom and said: "What does this have to do with me? You said that we revolve around the sun, but even if we revolve around the moon, what does this have to do with me or my work?"

What about the relationship?"

I couldn't help but want to ask him: "What do you do for a living?" But from his attitude, I could see that this sharp question might make him angry. So I thought about it for a while.

During the conversation, I tried my best to find some clues that could be deduced from the conversation. He said that he did not like to pursue knowledge that had nothing to do with the things he was studying, so of course the knowledge he had was useful to him.

I mentally listed the subjects that he knew deeply about one by one, and wrote them out in pencil. When I wrote them out, I couldn't help laughing. So this is it:

Scope of knowledge that Sherlock Holmes knows:

1.Philosophical common sense——none.

2. General literary knowledge——None.

3. Common knowledge of astronomy - none.

4. Common sense of political science - superficial.

5. Botanical knowledge - not comprehensive. But I know about opium, hyoscyamus preparations, etc. in detail. I have a certain understanding of poisons, but I don’t know anything about practical horticulture.

6. Geological knowledge - it is more practical and limited. However, he can distinguish different soil qualities at a glance. Once, after he came back from a walk, he pointed out the mud spots on his pants to me, and

Based on the color and solidity of the mud, he told where in London it had been splashed.

7. Chemistry knowledge - profound.

8. Anatomical knowledge - accurate. But lacks systematic understanding.

9. Knowledge of thrilling literature - extensive. He seems to know all the horrific events that have happened in the past 100 years in great detail.

10. English Law - He has sufficient practical knowledge.

11.Violin——plays it very well.

12. Good at using sticks, swordsmanship, and boxing.

I finished writing these entries and felt extremely disappointed. I threw the note into the fire and muttered to myself: "What if I connected all of this guy's skills and tried to find an industry that required these skills?"

, but the result can’t figure out what he is doing, so I might as well give up this attempt immediately.”

I remember just mentioning Holmes' ability to play the violin. He played the violin very well, but like his other abilities, there were some quirks. I understood that he could play some music, and some very difficult music at that.

At my request, he played for me several Mendelssohn short songs and some of his favorite pieces. However, when he was alone, it was difficult for him to play decent tunes or what everyone thought.

Familiar music. At dusk, he likes to lean on the armchair, close his eyes, and play the violin lying flat on his lap. Sometimes the sound is melancholy and high-pitched, and sometimes the sound is cheerful and strange. It is obvious that the violin's

The sound reflected some of the thoughts that controlled him at the time, but whether these tunes fueled his thoughts or were just his whims, I can't say. I was particularly concerned about the noises he made during his solos.

Boring; if he hadn't often played a few of my favorite tunes one after another as compensation for my patient listening, I would have been really angry.

In the first two weeks, no one visited us. This made me mistakenly think that my partner was like me, having no friends and being lonely. However, I soon discovered that he had many acquaintances.

They come from all walks of life. Among them was a man with a yellow face and a pair of black mouse eyes. Through Holmes' introduction, I learned that his name was Mr. Leswidt. This guy came here almost three times a week.

to four times.

Early that morning, a fashionably dressed young woman came. She sat there for more than half an hour before leaving. In the afternoon, another man with shabby clothes and gray hair came. He looked very much like a Jewish hawker, and his expression seemed very strange.

Nervous, there was a dirty old woman following closely behind him.

Another time, a white-haired gentleman came to visit Holmes. Another time, a train waiter wearing a cotton velvet uniform came to see him.

Whenever these strange visitors came to visit, Holmes always requested the use of the drawing-room, and I had to retire to my bedroom. He often apologized to me for the inconvenience he often caused me. He said:

"I have to use the living room as an office space. They are all my important customers." This time, I found a good opportunity to directly ask him my inner questions, but for the sake of caution, I did not force him to reveal the truth.

At that time, I thought that there must be some serious reason why he did not take the initiative to talk about his career. However, soon he took the initiative to talk to me about this issue.

I clearly remember that that day was March 4th. I got up earlier than usual, and Holmes had not finished breakfast. The landlady always knew that I had the habit of getting up late, so she did not arrange a seat for me at the dinner table. Of course,

, my cup of coffee was not ready. I got angry for no reason and immediately rang the bell to tell the landlady to prepare breakfast for me quickly. Then, I picked up a magazine from the table and read it to take advantage of the time.

While waiting for breakfast, Holmes was quietly eating his bread. There was an article in the magazine with a heavy pencil mark under the title. Naturally, I read this article first.

The title of the article feels a bit exaggerated - ×× Life Treasures. This article attempts to illustrate the truth: if a person who is good at observation systematically and accurately observes the things he comes into contact with, he will have

An extremely huge gain.

I think this article has outstanding features and has its own unique features, but it also has absurdities. The argument of the article is compact and rigorous, but the argument is a bit far-fetched and, in my opinion, even more exaggerated. The author pointed out

, from a person’s momentary expression, every turn of his eyes, or every movement of his muscles, we can deduce his innermost thoughts. According to the author’s argument, for a person who has profound training in observation and analysis,

It is impossible for a human to "cheat" him; the inferences he makes are as accurate as Euclid's axioms. In the eyes of some laymen, these inferences are indeed amazing, and the layman can figure out why he got it.

Before drawing out the various steps of such inferences, he would be regarded by them as a "god man" who seemed to be able to predict the future.

The author writes, "A logician does not need to see the Atlantic Ocean or hear the sound of Niagara Falls to deduce their existence from a drop of water. Therefore, the whole life is like a huge chain. Once

When he sees one of the links, he can deduce the situation of the entire chain. He infers that the science of analysis is like other science and technology. It can only be mastered through long-term patience and hard work. Even if people spend their whole life, they may not be able to achieve perfection.

realm. Before exploring difficult and complex issues related to the psychological or spiritual aspects of things, beginners may wish to start by solving simpler problems. For example, when you meet a person, you must instantly identify the person's important history or

Professional work. Such exercise may seem naive or even boring at first, but it can make a person's observation ability gradually and become more and more keen. It can also guide people: where to start observing and what aspects to observe.

, a person's nails, clothing, shoes, the knee part of pants, or the callus between thumb and index finger, facial expression, shirt cuffs, etc.; no matter what is said in them, it can clearly reveal who he is.

Professional work. If the investigators of the case are not suddenly enlightened by linking all these circumstances, then it is almost unimaginable."

After reading this, I couldn't help but throw the magazine on the table and said loudly: "What nonsense! I have never read such a boring article in my life."

Holmes asked: "What article?"

"Oh! That's it." I sat down to eat breakfast and pointed at the article with a small spoon and said, "I think you have read it. There is also a pencil line drawn by you below! I don't deny it.

, this article is well written, but after reading it, I still can’t help but get angry. Obviously, this is a set of specious fallacies dreamed up by an idle, fat-headed lazy man sitting in his study. The argument is not relevant at all.

Actually, I would like to try locking this lazy man in a third-class subway car and asking him to tell the professional jobs of everyone in the car one by one. I would like to bet him a thousand to one.

!”

"Then, you lose!" Holmes said calmly: "Because I wrote this article."

"Did you write it?"

"Yes. I have extraordinary abilities in both observation and reasoning. In this article, my inference may seem absurd to you, but in fact it is very practical. It actually reaches an extent that is even

I earned this bread and cheese." He pointed to his breakfast.

I couldn't help but ask: "How do you live on it?"

"Oh! I have my own profession. I think I may be the only one in the world who does this. I am a 'detective consulting expert'. Maybe you can understand this profession this way. In London,

There are many official detectives or private detectives who come to me when they have difficulties. I have a way to put their investigation work on the right track. They provide me with the evidence they have, and generally speaking, I can pass it.

I have extensive knowledge of criminal history to correct errors in their investigation work. All criminal acts have striking similarities; if you know the details of a thousand cases well, but don’t know the details of the one thousand and one

It's really strange that there is no inference for a case! Lestrade is a famous detective. Recently, he went astray when solving a forgery case, so he came to me to help solve the case. "

"Where are the other people?" I asked.

"Most of them were guided by private detectives, and they all encountered some very troublesome cases and needed expert advice. I learned in detail about their actual experiences and the evidence they had, and they listened to my suggestions. In this way, consultation

The fee will be in my hands."

"You mean, even though they personally witnessed all the details, they were unable to solve the fundamental problem, but you can solve their difficult problems without going out, right?" I continued to ask.

"This is exactly the case. Because I have an extraordinary ability to analyze things deeply through intuition. Of course, occasionally I will encounter more complex cases. At this time, I have to go out and investigate in person. You know, I

There is a lot of unique knowledge. As long as this knowledge is applied to cases, complex problems can often become simpler. Although the several inference methods I mentioned in this article will arouse your ridicule, however, in

In actual work, it has unparalleled value. The ability to observe is second nature to me. When we first met, I told you: 'You are from Afghanistan'. At that time, you were still surprised!"

"I think someone must have told you." I speculated.

That's not the case. At that time, when I saw you, I concluded that you had returned from Afghanistan. Because of my long-term habit, a series of thoughts flew through my mind, so when I came to this inference, I didn't

Perceive the specific steps that are taken to draw the inference. However, there are certain steps in between. For you, my reasoning process is roughly like this: First, this gentleman has the demeanor of a medical worker, but also has the demeanor of a soldier.

Temperament. Obviously, he is a military doctor.

Secondly, his face is dark, and he must have just returned from the tropics, but judging from the clear black and white skin on his wrists, this is not his original skin color. Thirdly, his face is haggard, indicating that he has just recovered from a long illness and has gone through all kinds of stress.

All kinds of hard life. Fourthly, his left arm was injured, and his movements are still a little stiff now. Excuse me, a British military doctor has experienced hardships in the tropics and suffered an arm injury. What region could this be? Of course it is only Afghanistan. However,

, my series of associations lasted only one second, so I told you at that time that you were from Afghanistan.

I chuckled and said: "Listening to your explanation, this matter is really very simple. For this reason, you reminded me of the detective character Du Pan in Edgar Allan Poe's works. I can't believe that besides the novel,

Besides, there are actually such characters in real life.”

Holmes stood up, lit the pipe in his mouth, and said: "You must think that by comparing Du Pan with me, you are flattering me. However, I think that Du Pan is really an insignificant detective. He often stays silent for 15 minutes.

, and then suddenly reveal his friend's psychology, this method is too artificial and very superficial. Yes, Dupin has some genius in analyzing problems, but he is definitely not the outstanding figure imagined by Edgar Allan Poe."

"Have you read Gapolio's works? What do you think of the character Le Goc? Can he be regarded as a detective?" I asked unconvinced.

Holmes snorted with contempt and said: "Le Goc is a useless fool. There is only one thing worth mentioning about him, and that is his abundant energy. This book really bored me to the core.

The topic only talked about how to identify unknown criminals. In one day, I could solve a similar problem. However, it took Le Gawk about half a year. Such a long time can completely give

Detectives have written a good textbook on what problems to avoid."

Hearing that he described two of my favorite literary characters as worthless, I felt very angry, so I walked to the window and looked out at the busy street. I said to myself: "This guy may be very smart, but...

, he is too proud and conceited!"

He said with dissatisfaction: "These days, no complex criminal cases have occurred, and no criminals have been found. People in my profession have really useless brains. I know very well that my talents are enough to make me

Become famous. From ancient times to the present, no one has ever been as talented as me in investigating crimes and has such in-depth research. But what is the result? Now there are no decent criminal cases for me to investigate. At most, they are just some simple small crimes.

In this case, the motive for the crime was so obvious that even Scotland Yard staff could spot it immediately."

Faced with his rhetoric, I still felt angry. Now, I thought it would be best to change the subject immediately.

"I don't know what that person is looking for?" I said, pointing to a tall man in simple clothes. The man was walking slowly across the street and seemed to be reading the house number. There was a big blue envelope in his hand.

, he should be a postman.

"You mean the retired Marine sergeant down the street?" Holmes asked.

I thought to myself: "He's bragging again. He knows very well that I can't confirm whether his speculation is correct." This thought has not disappeared from my mind. I saw that the postman saw our house number.

I ran over quickly from across the street. I only heard a knock on the door, someone was talking downstairs, and then, there were heavy footsteps on the stairs.

As soon as the postman entered the room, he said: "This is a letter from Mr. Holmes," and handed the letter to my companion.

I thought this was a good time to frustrate my arrogant partner. He just said nonsense and never expected this scene. I tried my best to ask in a gentle voice: "Excuse me, what is your job?

What?"

"I'm the postman, sir." He replied in a low voice, and then said, "My work clothes are torn and they are being repaired."

"What was your past occupation?" I asked him, glancing at Holmes with a slightly proud look.

"Sergeant, sir, I served in the Royal Marine Light Infantry." He answered me, and then said to Holmes, "Sir, you didn't reply? Well, sir, good-bye!"
Chapter completed!