It is of the highest importance in the art of detection to be able to recognise out of a number of facts which are incidental and which are vital.
Arthur Conan DoyleA study in scarlet, eh? Why shouldn't we use a little art jargon? There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it.
Arthur Conan DoyleYou have a grand gift for silence, Watson. It makes you quite invaluable as a companion.
Arthur Conan DoyleI had ... come to an entirely erroneous conclusion, which shows, my dear Watson, how dangerous it always is to reason from insufficient data.
Arthur Conan DoyleYou say that your fare told you that he was a detective?" "Yes, he did." "When did he say this?" "When he left me." "Did he say anything more?" "He mentioned his name." Holmes cast a swift glance of triumph at me. "Oh, he mentioned his name, did he? That was imprudent. What was the name that he mentioned?" โHis name," said the cabman, "was Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
Arthur Conan Doyle