The enduring appeal of Sherlock Holmes

When the future seems more than usually uncertain and there’s something troubling in the present, it’s natural to look to the past. Could that be why the figure of Sherlock Holmes is once again in our minds?

Brilliantly re-imagined in the new BBC series, Holmes uses the power of his luminous intellect to solve seemingly insoluble riddles. He is described as relying on reason, employing a science of deduction that enables him to explain events that have so far proved baffling. Yet it’s not the methods used by the fictional detective that fascinate us. It’s the contradictory figure of Holmes himself.

100 years on from the setting of the last of the Sherlock Holmes stories, we’ve witnessed a succession of failed experiments in using reason. It’s not just the collapse of communism followed by upheaval in free market capitalism – both of them systems based on theories that were supposed to be rigorously rational. In everyday life, systems that were designed to be infallible – from the security software we install on our home computers to the mathematical formulae used by hedge funds to trade vast sums of money – have proved to be dangerously unreliable.

As a result of these failures, faith in reason has been dented. The idea that the intellect alone can be our guide in life is weaker than it has been for many years. At the same time, Sherlock Holmes – a symbol of the power of intellect if ever there was one – is as powerful a presence in our imagination as he’s ever been. It’s a contradiction worth exploring.

It’s not the science of deduction that gives Holmes his power over us, since he doesn’t in fact use it. In The Sign of Four, Holmes declares: “I never guess. It is a shocking habit – destructive to the logical faculty”. Yet the type of reasoning which Holmes uses in most of Conan Doyle’s stories includes a good deal of guesswork.

It’s not cold logic but a clairvoyant eye for detail that enables him to solve his cases. Holmes has the knack of knowing where to look, asking the right questions and crafting theories to account for what he has found.

What’s striking is that Holmes relies on guesswork and imagination, supplemented and corrected by observation, as much as on reasoning. Like a good doctor, Holmes bases his inferences on evidence, but he reaches his conclusions by using his judgement. And he doesn’t rely on his judgement only in the work of detection. He’s ready to disregard legal rules when they seem to him unfair or out of place in the circumstances at hand.

Most of us now accept that reason can’t give meaning or purpose to life. If we’re not content with the process of living itself, we need myths and myths very often contain contradictions. Holmes is one such myth. Seeming to find order in the chaos of events by using purely rational methods, he actually demonstrates the enduring power of magic.

An exemplar of logic who lives by guesswork, a man who stands apart from other human beings but who is moved by a sense of human decency, Holmes embodies the modern romance of reason – a myth we no longer believe in, but find it hard to live without.

John Gray. Internet: <www.bbc.co.uk> © BBC News Website.
Reproduced with permission.

Based on the text, judge the item from.

“have proved to be dangerously unreliable”. Two words whose prefixes are semantically similar to the prefix in “unreliable” are present in insoluble and unfair.

The enduring appeal of Sherlock Holmes

When the future seems more than usually uncertain and there’s something troubling in the present, it’s natural to look to the past. Could that be why the figure of Sherlock Holmes is once again in our minds?

Brilliantly re-imagined in the new BBC series, Holmes uses the power of his luminous intellect to solve seemingly insoluble riddles. He is described as relying on reason, employing a science of deduction that enables him to explain events that have so far proved baffling. Yet it’s not the methods used by the fictional detective that fascinate us. It’s the contradictory figure of Holmes himself.

100 years on from the setting of the last of the Sherlock Holmes stories, we’ve witnessed a succession of failed experiments in using reason. It’s not just the collapse of communism followed by upheaval in free market capitalism – both of them systems based on theories that were supposed to be rigorously rational. In everyday life, systems that were designed to be infallible – from the security software we install on our home computers to the mathematical formulae used by hedge funds to trade vast sums of money – have proved to be dangerously unreliable.

As a result of these failures, faith in reason has been dented. The idea that the intellect alone can be our guide in life is weaker than it has been for many years. At the same time, Sherlock Holmes – a symbol of the power of intellect if ever there was one – is as powerful a presence in our imagination as he’s ever been. It’s a contradiction worth exploring.

It’s not the science of deduction that gives Holmes his power over us, since he doesn’t in fact use it. In The Sign of Four, Holmes declares: “I never guess. It is a shocking habit – destructive to the logical faculty”. Yet the type of reasoning which Holmes uses in most of Conan Doyle’s stories includes a good deal of guesswork.

It’s not cold logic but a clairvoyant eye for detail that enables him to solve his cases. Holmes has the knack of knowing where to look, asking the right questions and crafting theories to account for what he has found.

What’s striking is that Holmes relies on guesswork and imagination, supplemented and corrected by observation, as much as on reasoning. Like a good doctor, Holmes bases his inferences on evidence, but he reaches his conclusions by using his judgement. And he doesn’t rely on his judgement only in the work of detection. He’s ready to disregard legal rules when they seem to him unfair or out of place in the circumstances at hand.

Most of us now accept that reason can’t give meaning or purpose to life. If we’re not content with the process of living itself, we need myths and myths very often contain contradictions. Holmes is one such myth. Seeming to find order in the chaos of events by using purely rational methods, he actually demonstrates the enduring power of magic.

An exemplar of logic who lives by guesswork, a man who stands apart from other human beings but who is moved by a sense of human decency, Holmes embodies the modern romance of reason – a myth we no longer believe in, but find it hard to live without.

John Gray. Internet: <www.bbc.co.uk> © BBC News Website.
Reproduced with permission.

Based on the text, judge the item from.

“He is described as relying on reason, employing a science of deduction that enables him to explain events that have so far proved baffling. Yet it’s not the methods that fascinate us”. If these two sentences are rewritten as one, the result is: Since he is described as relying on reason, employing a science of deduction that enables him to explain events that have so far proved baffling, it’s not the methods that fascinate us.

The enduring appeal of Sherlock Holmes

When the future seems more than usually uncertain and there’s something troubling in the present, it’s natural to look to the past. Could that be why the figure of Sherlock Holmes is once again in our minds?

Brilliantly re-imagined in the new BBC series, Holmes uses the power of his luminous intellect to solve seemingly insoluble riddles. He is described as relying on reason, employing a science of deduction that enables him to explain events that have so far proved baffling. Yet it’s not the methods used by the fictional detective that fascinate us. It’s the contradictory figure of Holmes himself.

100 years on from the setting of the last of the Sherlock Holmes stories, we’ve witnessed a succession of failed experiments in using reason. It’s not just the collapse of communism followed by upheaval in free market capitalism – both of them systems based on theories that were supposed to be rigorously rational. In everyday life, systems that were designed to be infallible – from the security software we install on our home computers to the mathematical formulae used by hedge funds to trade vast sums of money – have proved to be dangerously unreliable.

As a result of these failures, faith in reason has been dented. The idea that the intellect alone can be our guide in life is weaker than it has been for many years. At the same time, Sherlock Holmes – a symbol of the power of intellect if ever there was one – is as powerful a presence in our imagination as he’s ever been. It’s a contradiction worth exploring.

It’s not the science of deduction that gives Holmes his power over us, since he doesn’t in fact use it. In The Sign of Four, Holmes declares: “I never guess. It is a shocking habit – destructive to the logical faculty”. Yet the type of reasoning which Holmes uses in most of Conan Doyle’s stories includes a good deal of guesswork.

It’s not cold logic but a clairvoyant eye for detail that enables him to solve his cases. Holmes has the knack of knowing where to look, asking the right questions and crafting theories to account for what he has found.

What’s striking is that Holmes relies on guesswork and imagination, supplemented and corrected by observation, as much as on reasoning. Like a good doctor, Holmes bases his inferences on evidence, but he reaches his conclusions by using his judgement. And he doesn’t rely on his judgement only in the work of detection. He’s ready to disregard legal rules when they seem to him unfair or out of place in the circumstances at hand.

Most of us now accept that reason can’t give meaning or purpose to life. If we’re not content with the process of living itself, we need myths and myths very often contain contradictions. Holmes is one such myth. Seeming to find order in the chaos of events by using purely rational methods, he actually demonstrates the enduring power of magic.

An exemplar of logic who lives by guesswork, a man who stands apart from other human beings but who is moved by a sense of human decency, Holmes embodies the modern romance of reason – a myth we no longer believe in, but find it hard to live without.

John Gray. Internet: <www.bbc.co.uk> © BBC News Website.
Reproduced with permission.

Based on the text, judge the item from.

According to the author, people’s faith in reason has diminished due to the fact that the use of reason is subject to contradiction.

The enduring appeal of Sherlock Holmes

When the future seems more than usually uncertain and there’s something troubling in the present, it’s natural to look to the past. Could that be why the figure of Sherlock Holmes is once again in our minds?

Brilliantly re-imagined in the new BBC series, Holmes uses the power of his luminous intellect to solve seemingly insoluble riddles. He is described as relying on reason, employing a science of deduction that enables him to explain events that have so far proved baffling. Yet it’s not the methods used by the fictional detective that fascinate us. It’s the contradictory figure of Holmes himself.

100 years on from the setting of the last of the Sherlock Holmes stories, we’ve witnessed a succession of failed experiments in using reason. It’s not just the collapse of communism followed by upheaval in free market capitalism – both of them systems based on theories that were supposed to be rigorously rational. In everyday life, systems that were designed to be infallible – from the security software we install on our home computers to the mathematical formulae used by hedge funds to trade vast sums of money – have proved to be dangerously unreliable.

As a result of these failures, faith in reason has been dented. The idea that the intellect alone can be our guide in life is weaker than it has been for many years. At the same time, Sherlock Holmes – a symbol of the power of intellect if ever there was one – is as powerful a presence in our imagination as he’s ever been. It’s a contradiction worth exploring.

It’s not the science of deduction that gives Holmes his power over us, since he doesn’t in fact use it. In The Sign of Four, Holmes declares: “I never guess. It is a shocking habit – destructive to the logical faculty”. Yet the type of reasoning which Holmes uses in most of Conan Doyle’s stories includes a good deal of guesswork.

It’s not cold logic but a clairvoyant eye for detail that enables him to solve his cases. Holmes has the knack of knowing where to look, asking the right questions and crafting theories to account for what he has found.

What’s striking is that Holmes relies on guesswork and imagination, supplemented and corrected by observation, as much as on reasoning. Like a good doctor, Holmes bases his inferences on evidence, but he reaches his conclusions by using his judgement. And he doesn’t rely on his judgement only in the work of detection. He’s ready to disregard legal rules when they seem to him unfair or out of place in the circumstances at hand.

Most of us now accept that reason can’t give meaning or purpose to life. If we’re not content with the process of living itself, we need myths and myths very often contain contradictions. Holmes is one such myth. Seeming to find order in the chaos of events by using purely rational methods, he actually demonstrates the enduring power of magic.

An exemplar of logic who lives by guesswork, a man who stands apart from other human beings but who is moved by a sense of human decency, Holmes embodies the modern romance of reason – a myth we no longer believe in, but find it hard to live without.

John Gray. Internet: <www.bbc.co.uk> © BBC News Website.
Reproduced with permission.

Based on the text, judge the item from.

The author argues that the figure of Holmes is contradictory. One example of Holmes’s contradictory nature is “In spite of his natural intuition for details, Holmes uses only logic to solve his cases”.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

World Heritage Sites are locations deemed to be of cultural or historical benefit for humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). By including sites on its World Heritage list, UNESCO hopes to ensure their continued preservation.

The criteria for inclusion in the list cover a range of possible categories:

!$ \bullet !$ Many World Heritage Sites are locations that have played a major role in the world’s cultures or civilizations. Some of them may in fact be the last remnants of a people who have since disappeared.

!$ \bullet !$ UNESCO also celebrates sites that represent key periods in human history, such as innovations in town planning or technological breakthroughs.

!$ \bullet !$ Places may be included as examples of individual genius. This may be a building of prime architectural importance or a location connected with the creation of a major work of art.

!$ \bullet !$ Not all sites are man-made, however. They could be an area of outstanding natural beauty, or geological significance, for example, as the site of a fossil discovery.

!$ \bullet !$ One further objective is to celebrate biodiversity. A site may play a vital role in the development of an existing ecosystem. Those which provide habitats for endangered species are particularly strong candidates for inclusion in the UNESCO list.

Based on the text, judge the item from.

Any architectural, historical, scientific, artistic or environmental site which plays an important role in the world’s societies is a potential World Heritage Site.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

World Heritage Sites are locations deemed to be of cultural or historical benefit for humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). By including sites on its World Heritage list, UNESCO hopes to ensure their continued preservation.

The criteria for inclusion in the list cover a range of possible categories:

!$ \bullet !$ Many World Heritage Sites are locations that have played a major role in the world’s cultures or civilizations. Some of them may in fact be the last remnants of a people who have since disappeared.

!$ \bullet !$ UNESCO also celebrates sites that represent key periods in human history, such as innovations in town planning or technological breakthroughs.

!$ \bullet !$ Places may be included as examples of individual genius. This may be a building of prime architectural importance or a location connected with the creation of a major work of art.

!$ \bullet !$ Not all sites are man-made, however. They could be an area of outstanding natural beauty, or geological significance, for example, as the site of a fossil discovery.

!$ \bullet !$ One further objective is to celebrate biodiversity. A site may play a vital role in the development of an existing ecosystem. Those which provide habitats for endangered species are particularly strong candidates for inclusion in the UNESCO list.

Based on the text, judge the item from.

Being proclaimed a World Heritage Site can help to preserve biodiversity.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

World Heritage Sites are locations deemed to be of cultural or historical benefit for humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). By including sites on its World Heritage list, UNESCO hopes to ensure their continued preservation.

The criteria for inclusion in the list cover a range of possible categories:

!$ \bullet !$ Many World Heritage Sites are locations that have played a major role in the world’s cultures or civilizations. Some of them may in fact be the last remnants of a people who have since disappeared.

!$ \bullet !$ UNESCO also celebrates sites that represent key periods in human history, such as innovations in town planning or technological breakthroughs.

!$ \bullet !$ Places may be included as examples of individual genius. This may be a building of prime architectural importance or a location connected with the creation of a major work of art.

!$ \bullet !$ Not all sites are man-made, however. They could be an area of outstanding natural beauty, or geological significance, for example, as the site of a fossil discovery.

!$ \bullet !$ One further objective is to celebrate biodiversity. A site may play a vital role in the development of an existing ecosystem. Those which provide habitats for endangered species are particularly strong candidates for inclusion in the UNESCO list.

Based on the text, judge the item from.

A man-made site is more likely to become a World Heritage Site than a natural one.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

World Heritage Sites are locations deemed to be of cultural or historical benefit for humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). By including sites on its World Heritage list, UNESCO hopes to ensure their continued preservation.

The criteria for inclusion in the list cover a range of possible categories:

!$ \bullet !$ Many World Heritage Sites are locations that have played a major role in the world’s cultures or civilizations. Some of them may in fact be the last remnants of a people who have since disappeared.

!$ \bullet !$ UNESCO also celebrates sites that represent key periods in human history, such as innovations in town planning or technological breakthroughs.

!$ \bullet !$ Places may be included as examples of individual genius. This may be a building of prime architectural importance or a location connected with the creation of a major work of art.

!$ \bullet !$ Not all sites are man-made, however. They could be an area of outstanding natural beauty, or geological significance, for example, as the site of a fossil discovery.

!$ \bullet !$ One further objective is to celebrate biodiversity. A site may play a vital role in the development of an existing ecosystem. Those which provide habitats for endangered species are particularly strong candidates for inclusion in the UNESCO list.

Based on the text, judge the item from.

UNESCO tends to throw parties at sites in which important technological developments took place.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

World Heritage Sites are locations deemed to be of cultural or historical benefit for humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). By including sites on its World Heritage list, UNESCO hopes to ensure their continued preservation.

The criteria for inclusion in the list cover a range of possible categories:

!$ \bullet !$ Many World Heritage Sites are locations that have played a major role in the world’s cultures or civilizations. Some of them may in fact be the last remnants of a people who have since disappeared.

!$ \bullet !$ UNESCO also celebrates sites that represent key periods in human history, such as innovations in town planning or technological breakthroughs.

!$ \bullet !$ Places may be included as examples of individual genius. This may be a building of prime architectural importance or a location connected with the creation of a major work of art.

!$ \bullet !$ Not all sites are man-made, however. They could be an area of outstanding natural beauty, or geological significance, for example, as the site of a fossil discovery.

!$ \bullet !$ One further objective is to celebrate biodiversity. A site may play a vital role in the development of an existing ecosystem. Those which provide habitats for endangered species are particularly strong candidates for inclusion in the UNESCO list.

Based on the text, judge the item from.

Some World Heritage Sites preserve the last vestiges of civilizations whose members have passed away long ago.

World Monuments Fund

I’ve always loved architecture. Buildings reflect our cultural legacy and speak volumes about the people and cultures that built them. So, it was wonderful to learn about the World Monuments Fund, an American organization that works to protect and preserve culturally and historically important buildings and sites. As well as raising funds, it also seeks to promote awareness of the value of historic buildings and teach building techniques, both old and new, so that communities can protect their heritage.

Founded in 1965, one of the WMF’s first projects began the following year, when it helped to secure funding to restore the Italian city of Venice after a period of extreme flooding. Since then, the WMF has helped to preserve over 600 sites in 120 countries.

In Argentina, for example, the WMF has worked to protect the historic center of Buenos Aires, which dates back to the 1580s. Today the hub of the city’s cultural and political life, the center is bursting with monuments and listed buildings, but is under increasing threat from urban expansion. Since 2010, the WMF has campaigned to bring about a change in planning regulations within the city.

The WMF also compiles a “watch list” of buildings at risk every two years. This initiative seeks to draw international attention towards particularly important and vulnerable structures. The buildings and sites on the list range from the less well-known to the very famous, and have included, for example, the huts used by early 20th century explorers in Antarctica, which had been affected by climate change, Dubrovnik’s Old City Harbor in Croatia, damaged by earthquake and war, and the Great Wall of China, a victim of vandalism.

Of course, organizations like the WMF count on donations. If we all give a little money, the organization can continue to carry out its valuable work. Without it, our beautiful buildings, the vestiges of our history, are at risk of slowly falling to ruin.

Internet: <www.wmf.org>.

Based on the text, judge the item from.

Since well-known buildings and sites are much more appealing to the public, WMF has not managed to raise enough funds for less famous monuments.