The Art of Deduction

By Adam Sinicki

If you've seen the recent Sherlock Holmes film (if you haven't then you should) then you'll have witnessed the usefulness of being able to quickly assess a person or situation and soak in all the information. There's tonnes of information you can get from looking at someone or a situation that we often just don't assimilate. Following then is a taster of the art of deduction - What you can learn about a person from their clothes, manner and affects. It's all elementary!

Assessing dress
There's a lot you can learn about someone from their clothes and effects. Wealth You can obviously quickly assess how wealthy someone is by looking at their clothes. Are they brand names? If you see them often - are they wearing the same things? Of course you must be careful, some people will try to appear more or less well off and there's not much you can do about this. Good places to look for an indication however are the shoes and the watch. Normally even someone who's trying to hide their wealth will splash out on these items. Likewise, someone who buys expensive clothes outside of their budget won't be able to afford a Rolex. If you do spot that they're trying to hide their financial situation then you have already uncovered an insecurity that can be used.

Effort
Are they wearing the same clothes everyday? Are they not bothering to comb/gel their hair? The effort someone puts into their appearance says a lot of things. Firstly it tells you whether they are generally laid back, or if they generally worry allot about what others will think of them. If they look like they rushed to get ready you know that they like to lie in. Where else can you take advantage of this laid back attitude? This laziness?
If it's a man and their shirt is un-ironed then you know they probably don't live with a wife or mother.
Take into consideration also the context. If they have left work and their shirt is still tucked in this suggests someone who takes allot of pride in what they do. Either they have a genuinely cool job or you're probably looking at a bit of a jobs-worth.
At work however, someone who's smartly dressed is probably hoping to progress further in their career, whereas someone who's dressed more casually is likely to feel happy in their current position.
If it's a female and you're on a date or meeting her alone, the amount of effort she puts in can be taken as some kind of indication of how interested she is. If she's just in a sweatshirt - give up. Oh, unless she's just in a sweat shirt... in which case... played!

With it... ness.
How trendy are their clothes? If they are hip and trendy you have someone who is more social and who watches modern programmes. The less trendy or acceptable the clothes become the more you are seeing someone who spends allot of time alone or in a small clique. Someone who is completely lost touch with their demographic (you know the sort, frizzy hair, bright stripy scarf) probably is in a bad place psychologically and has 'let themselves go'.

Recent activities
If you spot mud on someone's shoe you know they've recently been to a field or in their garden. Is it dry or wet? Is there sand? Grass? Cheese? If there is cheese then something weird is going on.
Have they spilled some food on their top? Now you know what it is they like to eat. Are they ingredients? Now you know they cook.

Physical attributes
Glasses tell you someone has poor eyesight. How can you utilize this? A bandage tells you where to attack should you feel the need.

Confidence
You can tell a bit about confidence from clothes. Are they trying to blend in or draw attention to themselves? A bright pink t-shirt may mean they aren't afraid to stand out in a crowd. It may also mean they are insecure however and that they need attention.
A girl's dress sense on a night out can tell you about how she sees herself. If she seems more covered than the other girls then she is obviously less confident in her appearance than they are. If a girl has trousers on, but a low-cut top, you know that she believes her breasts to be her best asset. If this is the case, a well timed compliment aimed at her rear or legs might do more to boost her confidence than another comment on the tits.
If someone is trying to stand out in an aggressive way - for example a green Mohican or black nails, then chances are they are disillusioned with society. This is likely either because they have been rejected by their peers; they therefore defend their ego by pretending it was they who rejected society. Alternatively they may be trying to assert their independence. This could either be because they are having some sort of identity crisis or because they feel repressed in their daily lives. A lot of young people choose to dress in outlandish manners to break free of their parents' and teachers' rules and because they are trying to discover who they are. Aren't we all?

Jewellery
The most obvious thing you can tell from jewellery is whether someone is married or engaged. Many people also wear jewellery that has an important meaning to them. If her girl wears a locket it probably contains someone close to her. A charm bracelet represents many people who are important to them. Either of these items shows an element of sentimentality and perhaps even that the person has experienced the loss of loved ones.

Weaknesses
Looking for weaknesses is one of the major objectives of the art of deduction. Bandages point to weak areas and so tell you where to strike if you're in a fight. Piercings are themselves weaknesses and can be torn from an opponents face.

Body art
There are several reasons that someone gets a tattoo.
1. The tattoo means something important to them
2. They want to pull/look hard/fit in
3. They want to mark their independence
Where the person gets the tattoo, as well as what the tattoo is of, will give you some indication as to which of these is the case. If the tattoo is very prominent it is likely meant to be seen and therefore it will more likely be option 1 or 2. If the tattoo is something commonly seen, Chinese writing or tribal, as well as being strongly visible then it is likely to be number 2. If the tattoo is hidden and modest then the chances are that it is more for that person's own enjoyment.

Role models
It may sometimes be obvious who or what someone has modelled themselves on and from this you can tell what kinds of things they enjoy and can lead you to guess many other aspects of their personality. For example, someone in a football shirt obviously enjoys sports. Less obviously, someone who dresses in a long black trench coat is probably a Matrix fan. Such a person might enjoy martial arts then, or programming or be a member of the goth subculture and listen to Rage Against the Machine. In deduction judging a book by its cover is encouraged to save time. Such is the evolutionary purpose of stereotyping.
To a lesser extent we are all subtly influence by what we enjoy watching on TV. Try to think who or what the person looks like.
As you can see, from just a quick glance at someone you can tell if they're married or with a partner, whether they're living with their mother, how sociable they are, how confident they are, how lazy, how wealthy, how secure in their class...
(Note: All this works in reverse to some extent. Think about how you want to present yourself!)

Judging reactions
How someone reacts to something can tell you allot about their cognition. A simple and useful example is when you want to know if someone is watching you. I remember at school I used to stare at girls across the class and because I was an optimistic fellow I used to be certain they were looking at me too. A good way to find out was to check my watch; curiosity dictated that if they were watching me they'd check theirs too. Alternatively I could look out the window, if they then looked out the window I'd know I was being watched.
They never did...
Of course someone's reaction to a piece of information can tell you allot about what they're thinking. When you're talking to someone, look out for their reactions to what you're saying. For example, if you suspect someone knows something they shouldn't, try stating that the opposite is true then see if they look confused. Like you probably are trying to decipher that sentence.
If you're trying to confirm a suspicion, act as though it's not a suspicion.
'How long have you been steeling my money?'
'Who told you?'
'You just did.'
If they think you already know then they have no motivation to continue lying (though you might want to be a little more subtle). Additionally it means that you can see how they react to the statement. Even if they continue to put on a front you should notice at least a little surprise that you know and this might cause them to pause suspiciously. Ignorance is hard to fake.
You can also use a similar tactic which is to 'smoke' them out with guilt. For example say 'I'm so glad I can trust you implicitly' then watch for them squirming.

And there you have it, you are now a master in the Art of Deduction!