When I first read the title of one Doyle’s story entitled, “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” I thought that it was literally a headgear which was the singular cause of a person’s death, apparently it wasn’t. It was far more the result of reasoning born out of insufficiency, which became the obstacle of Holmes in his deductions that put him in the wrong scent. “A band, a speckled band!” cried the woman before she met her demise. A folly that caused a person’s death, was it really a speckled band?
Early parts of the short story weren't as intriguing as the other adventures of Sherlock Holmes, but what captured my attention was the action of Holmes’ client to be in their residence quite early. A person, specifically a lady, to be seeking help so early in the morning, quarter past seven in the morning, something must be amiss. And there was really a problem, the mysterious death of the client’s sister who’s engaged, but died a few days before her marriage. It is one of the most singular of cases, which even the police didn’t even believe the client’s story, for her sister died without any hint of struggle, bruises, blood, or any of the sort, but the woman was said to be writhing in pain before she choked and made her last breath.
I was even dumbstruck myself in figuring out how did the woman met her doom and with her last words “The Speckled Band,” which is quite a mystery. It was, however, a folly in the story; the speckled band was found to be a serpent that seemed like a speckled band. It proved to be a difficult case for it smoked the real facts. And the data Holmes gathered was not enough for him to build his theories. He can’t easily make a hypothesis about it.
It is quite so relatable, for I had my share of jumping to conclusions without even acquiring facts before formulating my theories. It is a capital mistake. Quoting Holmes in the story:
"I had come to an erroneous conclusion, which shows, how dangerous it always is to reason from insufficient data." —Sherlock Holmes, The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Even worse, guessing, which is an irrational way of thinking. I have made mistakes out of guesses; two things that I thought were a speckled band, for I was too hot in forming my conclusions even without solid data. Much more that I’m in the field where I work my observational skills 24/7 and the Profiling which I’m pursuing to master. It is not wise to rely on guessing. It’s a capital sin in my profession. That is why being a student of behavior and mental processes, one must be knowledgeable enough to avoid the folly of guessing.
I am certain that I am not the only one who succumbed to this, but being aware of this recklessness would save one from a life of conflict out of wrong assumptions and dim-lighted guesses. Next time you think that something is amiss, will you ever make the mistake of guessing of it as a mere speckled band?
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