Why Sherlock Holmes was a Master of Simplicity

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson arrive at King’s Pyland to investigate the disappearance of the super racehorse ‘Silver Blaze’, and the murder of its trainer, John Straker.

The horse belongs to Colonel Ross.

John Straker was a long time associate of Ross and Silver Blaze was a favorite horse for an upcoming race.

To protect Silver Blaze, Ross had appointed a watch-guard Ned Hunter and a dog to keep an eye on the stable.

On a frightful night, Ned Hunter was drugged by a sedative added to his dinner.

And before these incidents of crime took place, a sheep on Ross farm had got lame.  Why? Nobody knows.

John Straker’s body was found in a desolated location far away from the stable.

The investigations revealed that he was hit hard on his skull which caused his death.

A cataract knife was found at the crime scene and Staker’s coat was found draped over a bush.

And a cravat was found in Straker’s hand which belongs to a bookie named Fitzroy Simpson.

On the day of this ugly incident, Simpson had come to King’s Pyland to gather information about Silver Blaze and other horses.

He was arrested by Inspector Gregory of Scotland Yard on the criminal charges for kidnapping Silver Blaze and the murder of John Straker.

Inspector Gregory theory was –

Simpson had stolen Silver Blaze from the stable.

While he was running away, Straker caught him on the moor.

A scuffle took place, and Simpson hit Straker on the head with his heavy stick.

Then he ran away with the horse and hid it someplace.

But Sherlock Holmes was not satisfied with Gregory's theory.

He started his investigations from a different angle.

He came to the conclusion that it was John Straker who was kidnapping the horse.

But what caused John Straker to betray his master?

John Straker was in debt because his secret second wife was a heavy spender.

To repay the loan he took hefty money from a rival party to injure Silver Blaze.

He took the horse to an isolated location to make Silver Blaze lame by cutting him with the cataract knife.

He had earlier tried this experiment on the sheep that made it lame.

But his plan backfired.

Before he can inflict the wound, the horse kicked him on his head.

Straker died on the spot and the horse ran away.

The horse was captured by a neighboring stable owner who painted it to make it look like one of his own.

What Sherlock Holmes did was that he asked a simple question.

The guard Ned Hunter was drugged and unconscious; so he could not take any action when the culprit came to the stable to kidnap Silver Blaze. But the DOG did not bark and alarmed its owner (Ross) and other employees. Why?

The dog was not drugged.

The dog did not bark, because it knew John Straker.

Gregory (Scotland Yard detective): “Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?”

Holmes: “To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.”

Gregory: “The dog did nothing in the night-time.”

Holmes: “That was the curious incident.” — Silver Blaze by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

We often ignore or overlook the simple facts because we find it useless.

We are hypnotized by complexity.

But the simple facts are the key to solve complex problems. 

And Sherlock Holmes was a master of simplicity.

5 Best Examples of Creative Thinking

What is creative thinking?

A way of looking at problems or situations, from a fresh perspective that suggests unorthodox solutions.

Nasreddin Hodja was a Turkish scholar of the 13th century.

He was also called as Mullah Nasruddin, Nasreddin Hoca and Nasreddin Hodja.

He is known for his satirical style, blunt mannerism and anecdotes.

One day Nasreddin’s neighbor came to him for an advice.

The neighbor lived in a small house with a large family.

It was uncomfortable for him to live in a tiny house with his wife, mother-in-law and three kids.

He wanted Nasreddin Hodja to help him out.

Nasreddin knew that this man is asking for something that is beyond his reach.

He was not a magician who can cast a spell and make the house big.

But he had humor and wits.

So Nasreddin asked his neighbor, how many chickens he had in the barn?

The neighbor replied that he had 5 chickens.

Nasreddin told him to bring all the chickens in the house.

The neighbor was shocked and surprised.

But he did not question Nasreddin’s wisdom.

Next day the neighbor came back.

He complained that the situation had gone bad.

With the 5 chickens, it was difficult for him and his family to live in the house.

Nasreddin was calm as a summer sea.

‘Do you have a donkey?’ Nasreddin asked his neighbor.

The neighbor replied with a ‘Yes’.

Nasreddin advised him to bring the donkey in the house.

The neighbor was bewildered.

Nasreddin assured him that bringing donkey in the house will solve his problem.

Next morning, the neighbor returned with a gloomy face.

He complained that the last night was horrible.

The donkey and the chickens took the entire living area.

Nasreddin was not moved by the plight of his neighbor.

‘You have lambs, don’t you?’ inquired Nasreddin casually.

‘Yes I have two’, the neighbor answered.

‘Bring those two lambs in the house’, Nasreddin said to the neighbor.

The neighbor protested this time.

But Nasreddin assured him to have faith in his advice.

The next morning the neighbor returned in a miserable condition.

His sunken eyes revealed that he had a sleepless night.

He complained to Nasreddin that with the lambs, the chickens and the donkey in the house, his family could not even breathe.

His mother-in-law had threatened to kill him.

And his wife had threatened to leave him.

‘Why had you done this to me?’ the neighbor bemoaned.

Nasreddin was calm as usual.

‘Now, it’s time to take all the livestock out of the house’, Nasreddin said to his neighbor.

The next day the Neighbor returned with a winning smile.

Now our house is spacious. We can sleep peacefully, and the kids can play comfortably. Everyone is happy.

Nasreddin had solved the problem creatively.

He knew that his neighbor cannot buy a spacious house, nor he can throw some of his family members out of the house.

Even if he gets a bigger house, his wants will never be satisfied.

Human wants are unlimited.

The only way to solve this problem was to make him realize, that his present house has enough space to live a comfortable life.

Nasreddin used his creative powers and gave his neighbor what he wanted.

Don’t give them what they want, give them what they need. — Joss Wheldon

2) The Foxy thinking of Sam Zemurray

Sam Zemurray was born on 18th January 1877, to a poor family, in Kishinev- Russian Empire.

At the age of 14, he migrated to America.

He did not receive any formal education.

To fight poverty, he entered the banana trade at an early age.

Before Sam, things were different in the banana trade.

The bananas that ripened in the commute were disposed upon arrival at the port.

Sam bought these ripe bananas cheaply and sold them to the local grocers.

This technique bought Sam success and fame.

He earned the nickname “Sam the Banana Man”.

By 1911 he founded his own fruit company.

In 1915, Sam wanted to acquire five thousand acres of land located in the jungles of South America.

But there was a problem.

A renowned and powerful fruit company ‘United Fruit’ was also interested in this piece of land.

Neither Sam nor United Fruit was able to buy the land yet because it was in a dispute.

Two different locals were claiming the ownership of this plantation.

United Fruit dispatched a team of cunning lawyers, high profile businessmen, and experts to solve this issue.

They wanted this piece of land desperately and money was not an issue for them.

The team of United Fruits was leaving no stone unturned to find out the real owner of this land, and to close this deal before Sam makes any move.

But ‘ Sam the Banana Man’, was not so rich and powerful to hire expensive lawyers and negotiators.

But he was also desperate for this piece of land.

So he had to find a solution to this problem.

And he did something bizarre.

He met separately with both the locals who were claiming the ownership of the plantation.

And he bought the land from both of them.

Indeed, he paid twice for the land.

But he won over his rich and powerful competitor without getting into the mud fight.

Sam- a man with no formal education had check-mate the experts of the United Fruit.

Without any arguments or legal battles, Sam solved the problem with his creative thinking.

3) The out of box thinking of Josep Von Sternberg

Josep Von Sternberg was a renowned Austrian-American film director.

In 1925, he directed his first film The Salvation Hunters, which is considered as the first American Independent film.

In 1930, he received an invitation from Berlin, to direct a film featuring world-famous German actor ‘Emil Jannings’.

Being previously worked with Jannings, he knew that the actor is talented but he also a disruptive person.

Jannings would do everything to disturb the flow of production.

He would throw his stupid ideas towards the director and other unit members.

These poking would soon turn into an unhealthy argument, and at last, the directors had to kneel down before him.

But Sternberg was a man of discipline.

The only thing mattered to him was successfully completing the film.

So he devised a strategy.

He prepared himself for the games that Jannings will play.

Jannings demanded that the director should visit his dressing room every morning to see how interested he is in this movie. Sternberg did this without any complaints.

Jannings demanded that the director should take him on free lunches and should hear his ideas. Sternberg did this without showing any resistance.

When Sternberg showed his affection for other actors, Jannings would spark a jealous fit.

So he became extra affectionate towards Jannings.

Jannings assumed that everything is in his control.

But he was wrong.

Sternberg was only playing his game.

When Jannings delivered his dialogues in an unnecessary high pitch tone, instead of correcting him, Sternberg congratulated him for his tone by saying that he is the only person in the film to talk like that.

Fearing that this will make him out of the league, he will drop his tone to normal.

Sternberg would torch the hottest set light on the back of Jannings neck whenever he refused (for no reason) to pass through a certain door to make his entrance into the scene.

This would make Jannings uncomfortable and he would pass through the door.

Whenever Jannings refused to come out of his dressing room, a word would be spread that the director is bestowing attention on other actors.

On hearing this, Jannings would become jealous and he would come out of his dressing room.

Throughout the shooting, Sternberg used the useless tantrums of Jannings against him.

Without any arguments or explanation, he made Jannings to do what he desired.

And Jannings assuming that everything is in his control gave the best performance of his life.

The movie was complete without any disruption.

It became the blockbuster of that era.

The movie was ‘The Blue Angel’.

Using the power of creative thinking, Josep Von Sternberg solved all of his problems.

4) Creative thinking can turn the game into your favor.

George Walbridge Perkins was born on 31st January 1862, in Chicago.

After completing his high school education, he joined New York Life Insurance Company as an office boy.

With his exceptional problem-solving skills and hard work, he became the vice president of New York Life Insurance Company in 1989.

In 1905, he joined JP Morgan and negotiated many complex deals.

But his real test of skills came in 1912.

In 1912, he was the campaign manager of Theodore Roosevelt.

Roosevelt was trying hard to win the presidential nomination in 1912.

To promote Roosevelt and his party, George Perkins decided to distribute a pamphlet.

The pamphlet will have Roosevelt’s photo on the cover, and inside it will have the transcript of his speech called “Confession of Faith”.

All was going well until a worker noticed a line on the photograph: Moffett Studios — Chicago.

The photo was copyrighted by Moffett Studios.

The unauthorized use of this photo may result in paying millions as a fine.

And they cannot go back at this time and change their campaign plan.

They had to negotiate for the photograph with Moffett studios at any cost.

Further investigations revealed that Moffett was a tough case when it came to money.

And he was also planning to retire soon.

So it was assumed that he will ask tons of money for this photograph.

The clever George Perkins stepped into this matter.

He did not ask Moffett how much they should pay him to use the photograph.

Instead, he landed him in a tricky situation.

He telegrammed him the following message.

“We are planning to distribute millions of pamphlets with Roosevelt’s picture on the cover. It will be great publicity for the studio whose photograph we use. How much will you pay us to use yours?”

Moffett was unable to understand this tactic.

And he replied innocently to George.

“We have never done this before. But under the circumstances, we’d be pleased to offer you $250.”

George accepted the offer of $250.

With his exceptional skills and creative thinking, George has not only solve the problem but also made Moffett pay them for using the photograph.

Creative thinking can turn the tables.

5) The road of creative thinking

John Steinbeck published his realist novel ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ in 1939.

It depicts the plight of the families of tenant farmers and immigrants during the Great Depression.

It also revealed the darker side of the banking system and farming corporations.

‘The Grapes of Wrath’ became the bestselling book of 1939.

It also won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

Later in 1962, Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for ‘The Grapes of Wrath’.

But with the flowers came the thorns.

Both the leftists and rightists called Steinbeck a propagandist and socialist.

Banks and farming corporations accused Steinbeck of spreading lies.

The novel was banned and burned by landlords.

Steinbeck even received death threats for writing this novel.

Despite all the controversy surrounding it; Hollywood director John Ford decided to make a movie on this novel.

He signed the versatile actor Henry Fonda to play the lead role of Tom Joad.

The budget for making this movie was $800,000 and 20th Century-Fox was the distributor.

But there was a problem.

John Ford knew that there would be many objections if he announced that he is making a movie on the controversial ‘The Grapes of Wrath’.

There was a high chance of some organizations destroying the movie sets, interrupting the shooting and harming the film crew.

John Ford did not want to put himself and his crew in danger, but he also wanted to make this movie at any cost.

So he came out with a creative solution.

He gave the movie a fake working title — “Highway 66’’.

And he picked this idea from the novel itself.

Highway 66 is the main migrant road in ‘The Grapes of Wrath’.

“66 is the path of a people in flight, refugees from dust and shrinking land, from the thunder of tractors and shrinking ownership, from the desert’s slow northward invasion, from the twisting winds that howl up out of Texas, from the floods that bring no richness to the land and steal what little richness is there. From all of these the people are in flight, and they come into 66 from the tributary side roads, from the wagon tracks and the rutted country roads. 66 is the mother road, the road of flight.” — — The Grapes of Wrath.

John Ford finished the shooting without any disturbance.

On 24th January 1940, the movie was released with the original title ‘The Grapes of Wrath’.

No doubt there were protests after the movie release.

Farming corporations called for a boycott of all 20th Century-Fox films.

But the protest did not have any major impact.

The movie was well received by the cine-goers at that time.

And today it is remembered as one of the greatest American films of all time.

“Highway 66” was the road of hope for John Ford to make this masterpiece.

John Ford creative thinking helped him to make this movie without any fuss.

So that’s all from my side. What are the examples of creative thinking that you know?

10 best things we can learn from the life of Buckminster Fuller

Richard Buckminster Fuller was an American architect, designer, systems theorist, inventor, and author. He was the inventor of inexpensive Dymaxion cars, Dymaxion houses, and Geodesic dome. His life was plenty of up and downs. He had many setbacks and failures. So here are the 10 best things we can learn from his life.

1) It is okay to dislike the traditional learning process:

Buckminster Fuller’s journey in academic institutions was poor. Understanding geometry at school was a nightmare to him. He was a bright student. But he could not figure out how a chalk dot on the blackboard characterizes a mathematical point. He bunked classes at Harvard College because he found the learning process boring. He got expelled from Harvard twice for his indiscipline behavior. It’s okay if you dislike the learning process of schools and universities. Even Albert Einstein was expelled from his high school.

2) Never stop learning:

Despite his lack of interest at academic institutions, Fuller never stopped self-learning. As a child, he made his own tools from the stuff he collected while wandering in the woods. At the age of 12, he invented a push-pull system for propelling a rowboat. Learning is not limited to what we learn at schools and universities. Real learning happens within us. A person should never stop learning. If someone asks you, ‘What is your job’? Answer them that you are learning. What is common among the great scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs, writers, actors? They keep on learning.

3) Imperfection is a blessing in disguise:

Buckminster Fuller was born with serious nearsightedness that made him wear eyeglasses at an early age. For him, the World was nothing more than a smoke of blur. But he converted his imperfection into strength. He began perceiving the World with more than his eyes. He developed a tactile form of intelligence to understand and adapt his surroundings. This helped him throughout his life. His extraordinary architecture work is an example of this. We often blame our imperfections for our failures. It is true that it creates obstacles to achieving our dreams. But it all depends on our characteristics. We have the power to convert our imperfections into strength. Steve Jobs was dyslexic, but it did not stop him from achieving greatness. He used his dyslexia to simplify the technology. Sylvester Stallone was born with a facial defect. That left him with a slurred speech patterns and drooping lower lip. But it did not stop him from becoming a successful actor.

4) Bad luck is a part of life:

Buckminster Fuller was born with nearsightedness. He could not understand geometry in school and was thrown out of the college. He agreed to a high paying job of a Sales Manager for the sake of his family. But the bad luck strikes him again. The company went down and Fuller lost his job. He partnered with this Father in Law and founded the Stockade Building System, to produce low-cost materials for building houses. But the board members could not digest his exceptional ideas. After five years the company was sold and Fuller has fired him from his Presidential post. But the saddest incident in his life was the death of his four-year-old daughter. His daughter, Alexandra, died because of polio and spinal meningitis. He held himself responsible for not providing adequate housing to his family that led his daughter to her death. But all this bad luck did not stop Fuller from becoming a great person. Bad luck is part of life; bad things happen to everyone. Don’t get discouraged if you are having a bad time. It will pass off.

5) Depression is bad:

Getting depressed is natural. But being in a depressed state all the time is harmful. It may lead to some unwarranted decisions. Buckminster Fuller faced many difficulties. His eye sightedness was terrible, he lost many jobs, and he lost his daughter. At the age of 32, he got fired from the Stockade Building System that he founded with his father-in-law. His name and reputation went shattered. He doubted that he will find some another work. He had no savings to support his life. He decided to commit suicide so that his family can survive on his insurance money. But at the crucial moment, he heard an inner voice and aborted his suicide plan. What would have happened if he had committed suicide? We could not have been reading of his achievements here. Don’t allow yourself to depression. Remember that good things are waiting for you.

6) Success can arrive at any age:

How often do we read about people launching their business at an early age? Making millions and becoming famous in their early twenties. And then we compare our lives with them. We will feel sorry for ourselves for not achieving such fame when we were young. But success can arrive at any time in our life. Buckminster Fuller decided to commit suicide at the age of 32. To end his life he went towards the Lake Michigan to drown himself. Then something happened that changed his life. He heard a voice (he was not sure from where it came). It said, “from now on you need never await temporal attestation to your thought. You think the truth. You do not have the right to eliminate yourself. You do not belong to you. You belong to Universe. Your significance will remain forever obscure to you, but you may assume that you are fulfilling your role if you apply yourself to converting your experiences to the highest advantage of others.” The voice gave him a hope. It gave him the strength to follow his dreams of making inexpensive and energy-efficient cars, houses, and building structures. He then worked hard to achieve his dreams. After a few years he invented the Dymaxion car, Dymaxion houses, and Geodesic dome which changed the concept of architecture. He published more than thirty books on architecture and design. He received twenty-eight United States patents and many doctorates. Don’t lose hope if you have not made name and fame in your life yet. Keep working harder and success will follow you. And don’t forget; age is only a number.

7) Be truthful to yourself:

Buckminster Fuller loved machines. We all knew that at age of 12 he invented a push-pull system for propelling a boat. He never stopped playing with machines to simplify them. He was honest with his inner talent for understanding machines and designs. He was not afraid to share his ideas with his colleagues. He took a stand whenever he saw his co-workers following a wrong practice. His truthfulness nature made him follow his dreams of simplifying the architecture. Be truthful and honest with yourself. Never do something against your wishes to impress other people.

8) Never give up on your dreams:

Buckminster Fuller followed his dreams. His dreams and passions meddle in his academic and professional life. But he did not back up. He knew that he had the potential to simplify the architecture. He knew he could come up with housing system that can be affordable by the common man. There were many obstacles in his path, but he never lost the sight of his passion.

9) Family is a blessing:

Buckminster Fuller luck was not at his side during his early years. But he had the tremendous support of his family. Because of nearsightedness, his parents took extra care of him. His wife was supportive when he was having a tough time in his career. His father in law supported him and founded the Stockade Building System with him. A supportive family is a blessing. Be thankful to them for standing with you in your tough time.

10) Hard Work pays off:

Buckminster Fuller was hard working from his childhood. The World did not understand his ideas at first. But later he became one of the brilliant architects the World has seen. There were many setbacks and failures in his life. But he kept on working hard and became one of the World’s finest architect, inventor, and author. Your hard work today will bear fruits tomorrow.

The Double Face Truth!

A palace guard was caught sleeping on duty by his commander.

The commander recorded this incident in the daily log book.

“The palace guard was sleeping tonight on his duty”.

The guard apologized to his commander.

He requested him to not record this blunder, as this happened for the first time in ten years of his service.

He was afraid that he will get punished by the King.

He assured him that it won’t happen again.

The commander knew that this had happened for the first time.

But he refused to delete the record.

He told the guard that what he has written is true.

The guard returned home with a gloomy face.

His wife inquired about the reason behind his sadness.

The guard narrated the whole incident to his wife.

After listening to the guard, the wife gave him an advice.

The next day it was the guard’s turn to fill the records.

He wrote, “The commander was awake tonight”.

The commander went into a shock after reading the log.

He asked the guard to alter his statements.

Because it was implying that he was sleeping every other night.

The guard replied that he cannot alter anything because what he has written is true.

The Future of Recruitment Industry!

The year is 2045.

Eighty percent of the planet Earth is controlled by the Robots.

Mr. Xti — a Robot returns to his base after a long day of work.

He parks his autonomous HighSpeeder on the rooftop garage and takes a lift down to his floor.

He exits the lift and saunters towards his yellow colored life-pod.

A voice recognition system — resembling a first generation loudspeaker, guards the door.

The door slides open when Xti utters three electronic sounds.

The moment he steps into the pod an alarm goes off.

The pod is now buzzing with “Change of emotions detected” warnings.

When Xti got the ownership of this life-pod his default emotion was set to happiness.

But now his emotions had switched from being happy to being ‘Sad’.

He was sad because he got fired from his job.

But this was not the only reason for his sadness.

The real reason was the gruesome job hunting process that he had to undergo to find a new employment.

He hated job hunting.

The recruitment system is under the authority of the Human Beings.

He did not have any personal animosity towards the humans.

But he detested their methods of working.

The job description (JD) written by the humans were simple; devoid of technical jargon.

On top of the cherry, the JD highlighted the business pain and real responsibilities.

It was a mission impossible for Xti to understand the JD.

The application process was dull.

There were no countless online pages to fill.

One direct e-mail to the Head of the Hiring Department was enough.

He remembered the good old times of his planet Toomba.

On his planet, a job seeker had to travel over 1000 of online forms to submit a job application.

And it took several light years to get a reply from the hiring department.

On the planet Earth, the hiring manager takes only a week to reply.

Somehow he could bear with the job description and application process.

What about the job interviews?

How could he face the job interviews?

To him, Job Interviews were a lethal weapon designed by Humans to end the Robotic Alien Species.

The interviews conducted by Humans were not interrogations.

They were not scripted.

It was a real communication, where the job seeker and the interviewer interacted.

The job seeker had a freedom to ask questions about the job he applied for.

How could it be possible?

On the planet Toomba, the job seeker does not have the right to ask questions.

Of course, the candidate had the freedom to ask few nonsensical questions at the end.

But on this planet Earth, the job seeker can discuss the business pain with the interviewer.

Xti stands still in his front room calculating the risk involved in searching for a job.

The life-pod is still buzzing with “Change of emotions detected”.

Suddenly a tremendous blast blows up the life-pod door and a group of armored space-suited robots storms towards the emotionless robot.