1

My character has a habit (or running gag) of pointing out plot holes in conversations with her friends who lie a lot. She is quick to tell them what fragment of their stories about what they had just done recently doesn't make sense. She knows when they are lying about something as if she is Sherlock Holmes.

But Sherlock Holmes was made of two things according to a Wikipedia article of the character's category sections

  1. Intellectual
  2. Detective

Which is my character most likely to be clarified as?

2
  • 1
    3. Annoying ` `
    – user5645
    Sep 8, 2016 at 7:18
  • How does an accurate label for her impact the story? (I'm guessing it doesn't matter.) Characters might call her things, but their classifications don't have to be accurate; they'll just reflect their own personalities. Sep 8, 2016 at 11:25

1 Answer 1

4

Sherlock Holmes is famous for deducing answers to puzzles from observation. He was widely and deeply read, although he also deliberately forgot information which he felt wasn't important. He was a detective because the matters brought to him were problems which needed investigating — often crimes, but not always.

An intellectual is someone who is intelligent and studied, but not necessarily someone who is greatly observant or someone who can deduce facts given those observations.

So if your character knows that Bill is lactose intolerant but he says he was drinking milkshakes with Suzy, she can call him out on that lie. That's being a detective. If Bill starts going on about the benefits of supply-side economics and she counters with examples of Kansas's distastrous budget, that's being intellectual.

2
  • 1
    Exactly, you can be intelligent without being an intellectual. Sherlock absorbed the information needed in order to make him a better detective--details like the shape of shoe soles, the type of dirt/clay in various parts of London, and making a study of more than 100 types of cigarette ash. He did not absorb information about the solar system and the fact that we go round the sun because it's not relevant to solving murders. Also, Bill totes could have taken Suzy to get milkshakes. She's not the one who is lactose intolerant. :) Sep 8, 2016 at 15:21
  • 1
    @ErinThursby you're right about the milkshakes; I should fix that to make my point clearer. :) Sep 8, 2016 at 15:52

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.