Sherlock is a pseudo-intellect, made right in his guesses by virtue of authorial fiat. An improvement over him would be showing his internal processes calculating and adjusting probabilities in a Bayesian manner—and only then reaching the right guesses.
But judging from results alone it wouldn’t look as an improvement over what the original Sherlock succeeded in doing; even if that Sherlock was cheating.
But perhaps you could have Mycroft Holmes be a Bayesian, and Sherlock Holmes be a frequentist, and that’s why Mycroft is smarter. :-)
I’m not talking about the books, I’m talking about the TV Series. Cumberbatch!Sherlock is much better about substantiating his deductions than the original. He’s also psychologically more interesting. Please don’t confuse him with L from Death Note; they aren’t all that similar, besides being “high-functioning sociopaths with low-spectrum Aspegers, inferiority/superiority complex, and narcissism personality disorder, facing an enemy who’s very much like them except evil” (or something like that).
Both are appetizing possiblities. The former wouldn’t be the first case of a work exploring the possiblities of breaking the Statute of Secrecy, the latter would be interesting in other ways. What would you find more interesting, Sherlock starting out as an (aspiring) paragon of rationality, much like Harry, or Sherlock as-we-know-him meeting a rationalist who teaches him how to think properly? Let’s say Watson is that rationalist, that he isn’t made “smarter” than canon, demonstrating how it’s an art that can be learned, where having a high IQ merely means you’ll be a faster learner. Wouldn’t that be interesting?
Publish or perish! I wrote it first, so I take credit for the idea! :P
Though, if you’re wanting to write it, I encourage you to go ahead; I’m fairly sure you can pull it off nicely. Your dry style fits the tone of the show rather well.
That’s what they do, don’t they, good fanfic writers? They make full use of the quick feedback, the direct contact with the public, they sharpen their teeth, and then they actually go and write stuff we have to pay for, and not based on the franchises we already like, but with their own settings and characters and plots. Oh my, poor, poor us.:P
Best wishes, Alicorn, and good luck. [Stands on chair, addresses mess] Is anyone else interested in this?
Oh, but I do want to pay; it is only fair. (Reaches for the Donate button). Donate, huh? So I don’t have to justify what I’m giving you money for? Excellent.
Has anyone ever though of how a Sherlock and Methods Of Rationality crossover would play out?
Sherlock is a pseudo-intellect, made right in his guesses by virtue of authorial fiat. An improvement over him would be showing his internal processes calculating and adjusting probabilities in a Bayesian manner—and only then reaching the right guesses.
But judging from results alone it wouldn’t look as an improvement over what the original Sherlock succeeded in doing; even if that Sherlock was cheating.
But perhaps you could have Mycroft Holmes be a Bayesian, and Sherlock Holmes be a frequentist, and that’s why Mycroft is smarter. :-)
I’m not talking about the books, I’m talking about the TV Series. Cumberbatch!Sherlock is much better about substantiating his deductions than the original. He’s also psychologically more interesting. Please don’t confuse him with L from Death Note; they aren’t all that similar, besides being “high-functioning sociopaths with low-spectrum Aspegers, inferiority/superiority complex, and narcissism personality disorder, facing an enemy who’s very much like them except evil” (or something like that).
Actually that description fits Batman too...
A crossover, or just a rationalist Sherlock fic?
Both are appetizing possiblities. The former wouldn’t be the first case of a work exploring the possiblities of breaking the Statute of Secrecy, the latter would be interesting in other ways. What would you find more interesting, Sherlock starting out as an (aspiring) paragon of rationality, much like Harry, or Sherlock as-we-know-him meeting a rationalist who teaches him how to think properly? Let’s say Watson is that rationalist, that he isn’t made “smarter” than canon, demonstrating how it’s an art that can be learned, where having a high IQ merely means you’ll be a faster learner. Wouldn’t that be interesting?
Rationalist-Watson was my first idea, and an appealing one.
Publish or perish! I wrote it first, so I take credit for the idea! :P
Though, if you’re wanting to write it, I encourage you to go ahead; I’m fairly sure you can pull it off nicely. Your dry style fits the tone of the show rather well.
I’m not really planning to write any more fanfic; I’m swamped with original projects.
That’s what they do, don’t they, good fanfic writers? They make full use of the quick feedback, the direct contact with the public, they sharpen their teeth, and then they actually go and write stuff we have to pay for, and not based on the franchises we already like, but with their own settings and characters and plots. Oh my, poor, poor us.:P
Best wishes, Alicorn, and good luck. [Stands on chair, addresses mess] Is anyone else interested in this?
You don’t have to pay for my stuff. It is all free to read on the internet. You only have to pay if you want a pretty trade paperback.
Oh, but I do want to pay; it is only fair. (Reaches for the Donate button). Donate, huh? So I don’t have to justify what I’m giving you money for? Excellent.