By favorite, I mean I write poems based on a line from A Study in Scarlet. Watson was shocked that Holmes was ignorant of the Copernican theory (geo versus heliocentrism) and asked him why he wouldn't want to know that. Holmes, however, lectured him on the matter.
"You see, I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him is crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skilful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something thst you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones."
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet.
Watson then goes on to say how he made a list of Holmes's varied abilities, poison, geology, chemistry, anatomy, historical murders, violin, fighting, and law being the better. But chemistry, murder, and violin playing are at the very top.
Science, music, and something which tends to involve guns.
Suspiciously like my own interests at the current time: physics, piano, and James Bond.
But it's not Sherlock I feel a connection with--it's his brother, Mycroft. In the Bruce-Partington Plans, Sherlock describes him as having "the greatest capacity for storing facts of any man living." That sounds suspiciously like me, even moreso than Sherlock himself. I also think that Mycroft is the one exception to the rules Sherlock lays down earlier on. In modern terms, I'm one of the few exceptions out of billions. I must admit, though, I think it's Sherlock that shows the slight autism sometimes.
Don't get me going with fanfiction, though. I hate a lot of it. Luckily, there are a couple of decent stories on the Sherlock BBC section of fanfiction.net, and the authors have at least made it clear to the readers that they need autistic viewpoints. They read books written by autistics to learn just what to write like. I thank them.
In celebration of my birthday today, along with my revealing my passion for Sherlock Holmes, I present you with a special verse of The Attic. This one is part of Watson's list, where he describes Sherlock's knowledge of anatomy as "accurate, but unsystematic." An extra syllable was needed for The Attic.
My thoughts may go extremely fast.
My thoughts may not be dull.
My thoughts are very special but
Unsystematical.
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