police files: how to think like a detective

For this blog post, I wanted to focus on the deduction process of a detective. I came across an article called, "How to Think Like a Detective" by Ivar Fashing and in this article, he breaks down the important steps of thinking like a detective. I found it very interesting, and it really broke down the steps or tactics to how a detective approaches a crime scene. The very first step really reminded me of Sherlock Holmes: Assume nothing and find out what you really know. To ignore your automatic assumptions is harder than it seems, but if you really want to know what happened it is essential to slow down and actually double-check what you know with what you assume has happened. Nothing will get you into trouble faster than jumping to conclusions and missing the important evidence that will explain what actually happened. One of my favorite quotes of Sherlock Holmes is "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

Thinking like a detective doesn't happen overnight either. It takes practice and work to resist your quick reactions and dig deeper to the real cause of what happened. Another aspect of thinking like a detective is listening. Listening doesn't seem like it would be at the top of any detective's list, however, being a good listener can be the key to uncovering key pieces of evidence. Listening to what people say or, more importantly, what they don't say can tell give you information about what happened. Taking notice of what people say can give you clues about their emotions and their state of mind.  So, if you really want to think like a detective, then slow down and listen because the key to the case might be hiding in the most obvious place. 
Until next time...