Theseology

There is an art in following clues. Sherlock Holmes is a supreme practitioner of this art. He is always on the lookout for clues and he has a knack for figuring out what they mean.

Clues are the characteristics of structures. To be good at detecting clues we have to be familiar with lots and lots of structures.

But this is not enough. Sometimes the structures we are faced with in an investigation are not known to us. In such a case we would be hard put to detect any clues.

What do we do then?

We will have to invent structure after structure until we find one that suits. A person who follows clues has to be creative--like all other artists.

But besides being an art, following clues is also a science.

Why is it that when clues lead to new clues, we know we are moving in the right direction?

This is because a structure has many characteristics. The more of these characteristics we recognise in the structure we are investigating, the easier it is to pin it down.

There is an art in following clues. But it is also at the same time a science. Following clues is both an art and a science.

But this art / science has never been given a name. I propose we call it theseology.

Theseus went into the Labyrinth to kill the Minotaur. To ensure that he could come out again he unwound a spool of thread as he went in. A clue is often compared to a thread.

I have now in my hands … all the threads which have formed such a tangle. There are, of course, details to be filled in, but I am as certain of all the main facts … as if I had seen them with my own eyes.

--Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Scarlet