Monday, May 22, 2006

Elementary, My Dear Data

Happy Birthday to one of my favorite author’s!!! Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would have been 147 today!

So I have yet to have read all of Sherlock Holmes’s adventures, but I remember reading the Hound of the Baskervilles for the first time in 8th grade and LOVED it! Now every time I see Basil Rathbone on TV, the remote drops to the floor as I sit enthralled for hours! And don’t tell me you don’t think DATA didn’t do a good job as the 19th century gumshoe with Geordy at his side as the loveable Dr. Watson!

Here are some fun quizzes!

Check out Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s greatest detective of all time at Wikipedia for a short synopsis!!!

In A Study in Scarlet, Dr. Watson makes an evaluation of Sherlock's skills:

Sherlock Holmes—his limits

1. Knowledge of Literature.—Nil.
2. Knowledge of Philosophy.—Nil.
3. Knowledge of Astronomy.—Nil.
4. Knowledge of Politics.—Feeble.
5. Knowledge of Botany.—Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium, and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening.
6. Knowledge of Geology.—Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks, has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them.
7. Knowledge of Chemistry.—Profound.
8. Knowledge of Anatomy.—Accurate, but unsystematic.
9. Knowledge of Sensational Literature.—Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century.
10. Plays the violin well.
11. Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman.
12. Has a good practical knowledge of British law.



Of course, this is less that accurate as you start reading his adventures. Holmes is schooled in many of these areas! But according to him - his brother, Mycroft, is the real genius! Haha!



Have fun and Happy Birthday, Doyle!!!

6 comments:

Ted said...

So weird. I just picked up a volume of Sherlock Holmes stories at the "Java Fest" in Aurora yesterday.

I read a really entertaining book last year that fictionalized Doyle's rivalry with Harry Houdini - By William Shatner of all people.

Ever see The 7 Percent Solution? That was pretty good. I even liked Young Sherlock Holmes up until they started re-making "Temple of Doom"... that, and the "surprise" ending where you found out that the leader of the religious cult was actually the methodical, analytical genius James Moriarty... AS IF!

This and That said...

omigod...that last sentence caff X so makes no sense to me. how did we end up married?

locomocos said...

haha! i TOO thought that movie was good up until the ending! wow. I love you guys. I can actually nerd out with something other than Star Trek - and you STILL get it!

there's a lot of love here....
;D

Josh said...

Data could kick Sherlocks ass. You know, Data broke Worfs wrist once! Man, to brake a Klingons wrist! You would have to have speed and strength.

Ted said...

Worf didn't get to be the man til he grew out his hair all rasta.

There's an awesome outtake of Picard saying to an alien visitor "Welcome to the Enterprise. Would you like to beat up on our resident Klingon, Worf?"

Spoony Quine said...

` Oh, I LOVE IT!!!