Summary: <p></p> <p>Sherlock Holmes was based on a real man, a physician who trained Arthur Conan Doyle at the University of Edinburgh. During his medical lectures, Joseph Bell regularly astonished his students with insights into his patients' lives and characters.</p> <p>"From close observation and deduction, gentlemen," he said, "it is possible to make a diagnosis that will be correct in any and every case. However, you must not neglect to ratify your deductions."</p> <p>In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll meet Joseph Bell and review the stories of his legendary acuity. We'll also take a tour through Greg's database of unpublished oddities and puzzle over how having your car damaged might be a good thing.</p> <p>Our segment on Joseph Bell, the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes, was based on Northeastern Illinois University literature professor Ely Liebow's 1982 book Dr. Joe Bell: Model for Sherlock Holmes. Our original post on Joseph Bell ran on <a href="http://www.futilitycloset.com/2014/04/27/elementary/">April 27, 2014</a>.</p> <p>Harry How's 1892 <em>Strand</em> feature "A Day With Dr. Conan Doyle" is reprinted in the <a href="http://www.sshf.com/encyclopedia/index.php/A_Day_with_Dr._Conan_Doyle">Conan Doyle Encyclopedia</a>.</p> <p>Joseph Bell wrote the introduction to the 1892 edition of <em>A Study in Scarlet</em> -- <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:A_study_in_scarlet.djvu/14">Wikisource has a scan</a>.</p> <p>Somewhat related: When Arthur Guiterman twitted Doyle for having Holmes denigrate other fictional detectives that had obviously inspired him, <a href="http://www.futilitycloset.com/2012/05/19/prior-investigations/">Doyle responded in kind</a>.</p> <p>You can listen using the player above, or <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast?id=842593579">subscribe on iTunes</a> or via the RSS feed at <a href="http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset">http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset</a>.</p> <p>Many thanks to <a href="http://dougross.net/">Doug Ross</a> for the music in this episode.</p> <p>If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at <a href="mailto:podcast@futilitycloset.com">podcast@futilitycloset.com</a>. Thanks for listening!</p>
