List #12--10 Interesting Branches of Chemistry

Something that many deductionists find interesting is science.  After all, science involves a lot of logical reasoning and investigation.  I am doing a list series on sub-branches of different scientific disciplines, and I'm starting with chemistry because I just really like chemistry.  Here are some interesting branches of chemistry:

1. Analytical chemistry--The chemistry of what things are made of, which includes a lot of testing and fancy equipment to take things apart.  I imagine it's very hands-on.
2. Astrochemistry--The study of quantities of different substances in the universe.
3. Agrochemistry--The study of chemistry as it pertains to agriculture, like growing food and protecting the environment.
4. Biochemistry--The chemistry of living things, such as chemical reactions inside organisms.
5. Chemical engineering--Using chemistry to solve problems.
6. Geochemistry--The chemistry of the earth.
7. Nanochemistry--Chemistry on an incredibly small level.
8. Radiochemistry--The chemistry of radioactive things.  Also used in relation with non-radioactive things.
9. Stereochemistry--This is the study of how atoms are arranged in molecules.  The Wikipedia article didn't go into too much depth, probably because this is a fairly mystifying topic, even for someone like me.
10. Thermochemistry--The study of the effects of heat on reactions.

I hope this is a good start to my series.  If you're interested in any more, look at About.com's chemistry branch list where I found a lot of these.

Signing off,
SM

Persuasive Tactic #2--Sound of Talking (or lack thereof)

These are tactics for when you are persuading somebody face-to-face.

What You Need to Know

• Speaking quickly persuades people.
• Swearing at the beginning of your argument or presentation makes your target(s) think you are more intense.  PAYOR.
• People don't like awkward silence.  Be quiet to get them to open up.
• Always speak clearly so people think you know what you're talking about.
• Try not to say um, ah, er, etc. in between words, because it makes people think you are doubtful.
• Use some vocal variety to sound natural.  Don't sound the same the whole time.
• Emphasize anything important.  Otherwise people won't know it's important.  This seems obvious, but it is important.
• Whisper something like it's a secret.  People will feel like you trust them, have told them something private, and confided in them, building their trust in you at the same time.  This doesn't necessarily mean whispering, either; you can just lower your voice in a rather conspiratorial fashion.
• Synchronize your voice rate and tone with your target, as well as breathing.  This makes people feel more comfortable for some reason.
• Smile and laugh to make yourself seem friendly.

Anyway, that's it for now.

Signing off,
SM

Deduction Challenge #1--My Christmas Wish List

First off, you lovely readers do not have to get any of this stuff for me.  Some people put wish lists of stuff they want on their blogs for readers to send stuff; not me.

All I want for Christmas (from you) is for you to try to deduce things about me based on this list of stuff I want (that I am in the process of quite successfully persuading my family to get for me).  Please note that these are in no particular order.
-a praying mantis necklace
-The Elements by Theodore Gray
-The (nonexistent) Deductive Reasoning Cookbook by some nonexistent author
-gift cards
-science-related socks
-sheet music
-gel pens
-Scott McCloud's Comics trilogy
-anything frog or peacock related

You can let me know what you think in the comments section.

Signing off,
SM

List #11--10 Gift Ideas for the Deductionist/Persuader in Your Life

It's that time of year again: the holidays!  Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, or any holiday I've forgotten to include, there is a festive spirit in the air.  Here are some gift ideas you may want to consider putting on your list:

1. A magnifying glass.  Yes, it's a stereotypical detective thing, but it's pretty useful.  Plus, there are all sorts to choose from, and it makes a great small gift or stocking stuffer.
2. Any of the books from my Top 10 List  Many of these are/were bestsellers, and you can get them at bookstores in the Psychology or perhaps Business sections.  "I Spy" is in the kids' section and is the perfect gift for any observant children you happen to know.
3. Anything relating to a detective fandom you're in.  You know who you are.  You know what you want.  This is a friendly reminder.
4. Mystery books.  Okay, I am a little obsessed with books.  There just aren't that many other things I want.  Mysteries are very good for practicing your deduction skills, though.
5. Clothing in a color that will help with your life goals.  See my color post to find something that may be right for you.  If you don't like getting clothing, you can at least ask for it in an advantageous hue.
6. Wrapping paper.  Just ask for wrapping paper on whatever you get, so you have the chance to figure out what it is before you open it.  That's half the fun, right?  Look at yet another of my earlier posts for more ideas.
7. The Deductive Reasoning Cookbook.  Okay, this isn't actually a thing, but I've been telling people it's what I want.  I've also told them it's not actually a thing, so they don't agonize over it too much, but I want to see how they interpret the request.
8. Cool clothes that make you look mysterious.  Need I say more?  (If you're unsure of what sorts of fashions fall into this category, just watch "The Matrix.")
9. Forensic science experiment kits.  I've never tried these, because my experiments have generally come out of books or other sources and I've gathered the materials myself, but let's face it, asking for a banana so you can smash it and extract its DNA is kind of weird.  There are probably some good ones out there, especially at educational toy stores.  At places like that, you can also find kids' fake spy gear, detective games, and other such things you may find entertaining.
10. Sticky notes.  I've heard that putting things on sticky notes and giving them to people is persuasive.  Never tried it, but it's something not too over-the-top.
 

Happy holidays!

Signing off,

SM

Persuasive Tactic #1--The Basics

Hello blog readers!
Yet again, I have left this blog for too long.  I will try to update at least once a week from now on, whether by adding posts/pages or updating pages.  There were some missing cereal bowls I had to find and a bunch of random facts I had to memorize, but now I'm back.

I've decided to start incorporating persuasive tactics into my blog material.  Considering I've referenced the topic multiple times, read a bunch of books and blogs on the topic, and actually have a tangible need for the methodology in my life, it made sense to include.

The first post I'm calling, "The Basics," because unlike with deduction, which you can kind of haphazardly jump right into without really knowing much background, persuasion is much more conceptual and requires some basic ideological explanation.

This is all based on what I've read in multiple sources, which I will include a bibliography of later.

What You Need to Know

• People are generally hesitant to be persuaded.  If somebody walked up to you and said, "Hey, you're doing everything wrong; instead of working at your steady day job as an information technology professional you should drop everything and start a dinosaur-themed pizza place because it's the right thing to do, even though it costs a lot of money," would you immediately quite your job to start a T-Rex Cafe?  Of course you wouldn't.  You'd want reasons, the person's experience and credentials, and some confirmation that this had worked for others.
• Since people won't do just anything somebody tells them to do, especially when it involves buying things or doing any sort of work, they need to think it's their idea.  You need to ask people questions that lead them to the conclusion you want them to come to.
• People are likely to do things for you if you do things for them first.  Give them things of perceived value, listen to them, take an active interest in what they're saying, have sympathy for their problems, do tasks for them, etc.  This is sometimes referred to as the Reciprocation Rule.

These are just the very basics, and more specific info is to come.  I'm taking it slow with this persuasion stuff because it's kind of tricky to understand and each topic is pretty intricate.  Once I've covered the very basics, I'll speed things up a bit like I've been doing with deductions.

Signing off,
SM  

Mind Palace

So, on this blog, I'm going to put some random psychological stuff, as that is always good for deductionists to know about.  One of these is the concept of the mind palace.

Some of you may be very familiar with the term "mind palace."  (You know who you are.)  The same concept is also referred to as, "mind attic," "memory palace," "memory dungeon," "mental organization system," or something like that.  I'll be calling it mind palace because it is the most common term used by people I know and I'm used to it.

Whatever you call it, it's a way to visualize information.  Say you want to remember how to conjugate the verb, "I am" in Croatian.  You'll go into a "room" in your "mind palace," pick a "book" up off the "shelf," and see the words, "jesam, jesi, jest, jesmo, jeste, jesu" (the conjugations of the verb).

You can do this with any information, not just verbs in Slavic languages.  Names, dates, etc. can be stored away.  You should also use images.  Need to remember to buy milk at the grocery store?  You can put the word, "milk," across the wall of a room, have a large bottle of milk in the middle, write it on a list, and visualize yourself looking at any of these.

More info on this mental mapping technique is to come; I'm just starting myself.  Good luck!

Signing off,
SM

List #10--5 Useful Topics for Deductionists to Know About

In order to be any good at deduction, you have to know about more than just deduction.  You need some greater-than-usual knowledge on certain topics.  Here's where to start.

1. What's in fashion, and clothing in general.  You can approximate how old certain articles of clothing are if they look like something everybody was wearing three years ago.  This also may tell you a bit about what a person likes to wear, reasons behind it, etc.
2. Current technology trends.  You can also get a sense of what people's devices are and what they can do.  This could be quite useful in certain situations.
3. Different plants and animals in your area.  You should know a little bit about the flora and fauna of where you live, so you can identify anything that doesn't belong.  Not that you should, upon seeing a rodent you don't recognize, yell, "Suspicious chipmunk!  Obviously a genetically engineered robot smuggled in to sneak into the computer lab to chew up the wires that connect to the computer that an employee will secretly log onto at 3:00 this afternoon to protect the classified government documents!"  But it could be useful.
4. What different teas and spices smell/taste like.  This is mostly so you can walk up to your friend who needs tea to start their day, smell their tea, and ask, "So how is that herbal oolong with a touch of blueberry and a Vitamin C supplement this morning?" and have them look at you incredulously.  Or so, when you're eating out with friends and one of them is trying to put a finger on what's in that pasta sauce, you can explain that it's fresh rosemary, with a bit of dried parsley and ground tarragon mixed in there too.
5. Art history.  Whenever you see a famous painting, you'll know what it is and impress everybody, or at least know the name of the artist due to the style.  Also good when you see copies of famous paintings in places such as, say, your mathematics classroom.

I hope this ends up being useful to all of you.  Happy learning!

Signing off,
SM

Deduction #7--Back to School

I really have to get better about these long hiatuses, don't I?  Next time I'm on a case, I'll take some time in between being chased by werewolves and exploring top secret labs to post something.  Anything.  That is my promise to you, my dear readers.

As you have probably deduced, I am a student.  There's really no point in denying it, as aren't we all?  You may be a student of your college, a student of your high school, a student of homeschool, a student of graduate school, or even a student of your elementary school.  (If any of you are elementary schoolers getting into deduction, I congratulate you on your high reading level getting through this blog thus far.)  But you can also be, you know, a student of literature, a student of the world, a student of philosophy, and, if you're reading this, a student of deduction and psychology and all that.  Just some random food for thought there.

But, if you are a student of any sort of educational institution looking to evaluate your classmates, or perhaps a teacher looking to get to know your students better, here are some deductions for you.
And by the way...I decided to start an acronym:  PAYOR=Proceed At Your Own Risk.  Also CTYOC= Come To Your Own Conclusions, for things in which there is no particular formula for deducing.

What to Look For

• Observe people's school supplies.  This is one of those, "look first, deduce later" things that, though it doesn't lend itself to instant deductions, could come in handy for any number of reasons.
• Do they have pens or pencils?  Mechanical pencils or wood pencils?  If the latter, do they have a pencil sharpener?  Do they have colored pens, pencils, or markers?  These suggest an artist.  Do they write things in different colors?  This suggests that they are organized and into color-coding, or are just colorful and creative.  Do they have erasers?  Do they look well-used?  They probably use pencils a lot, they like to be able to correct things, possibly perfectionistic.  Do they have kneaded erasers? (Another sign of an artist--can you tell I hang out with artists all the time?!)
• Look at the case.  What does it have on it?  There may be designs that say something about their interests, or doodles, or really anything.
• If everything is covered in pencil dust, they probably have a number of wood pencils and/or a pencil sharpener that is prone to spilling.  (You may also be able to tell that I speak from personal experience in some areas here.)
• Look at notebooks.  Do they have a composition book or a spiral book that they keep their notes in?  They like having everything in one place.  Do they have a binder instead, with some paper?  They like being able to move things around, but still keep them mostly in one place.  Also, take note of any class requirements.  Where I go, there aren't a ton, and people generally organize as they see fit, but then again, I have some pretty easy-going instructors.  Do they have a binder and a notebook?  They may use the notebook for something else.  Check for sketchbooks, graph paper books (outside of math, science, and design courses), and other sorts of things that suggest a non-school interest.
• Look for planners.  Do they use the planner?  They are probably organized.  If you see inside the planner, do they have a busy schedule?  Is there consistency?  CTYOC, and PAYOR.  (Acronym in description.)  This depends on how well you know people.
• Do they carry their things in a bag from class to class?  Depending on whether your educational institution has lockers, cubbies, etc., this may be normal, or not normal.
• Do they have any books to read in a class that doesn't require them?  In some language and theatre classes, it's normal for people to be reading novels, plays, etc. as part of a project, but if they have something unrelated, they probably get bored easily.
• As a general rule, in a class setting, the people who raise their hands or otherwise catch the instructor's attention (It varies by institution, specific class, culture, etc.) are the more confident ones.  They also may enjoy presenting in front of the class or talking a lot in general about stuff.  In some cases, these are the most intelligent/skilled/hardworking students who are aware of their intelligence/skill/state-of-being-hardworking and like to show off, and in some other cases, they are the not-hardworking students who think they know everything.  
• As a side note, I don't believe intelligence, or perhaps more specifically, potential for achievement is something definite that you're born with, and I don't believe that what you learn or accomplish in any particular educational institution determines your abilities or self-worth, or is even an important thing to know in the first place.  However, students who enjoy learning generally work hard, if only to keep the teacher off their back so they have more time to write poetry or build a particle accelerator under the football field or whatever.  But keep an open mind, and if somebody isn't working hard, CTYOC.
• Look at people's handwriting.  I'm only beginning to get into this topic myself, so you'll need to find detailed info elsewhere, although a beginner's course in graphology will be in the works at some point for this blog.
• Use the info in all the other "Deduction" posts on this blog.  Most of these apply to school settings.
• Look at instructor's desks.  You can look for some of the same things mentioned earlier.

Other Related Advice

• If your instructor asks you for information about your interests, add "deduction" to the list.  I can guarantee you that it will stand out from the rest of the class, unless the course is related to such a topic.
• Showing off your deduction skills when you're first meeting everybody is very, very fun, at least for you.  Some people get annoyed by such practices, though, so PAYOR.

Signing off,

SM

List #9--5 Apps I Really Like

I'm not really a tech person.  I have this blog and stuff like that, but that's pretty much it.  I do kind of like apps though.  Enough said.

Most of these connect either to deduction, or general gain of knowledge.  Plus, some are free.

Take note:  I am not responsible for the content of these apps, nor am I responsible for what you do with them.  Also, these are just my opinions.

1.  Duolingo.  A free language-learning app.  So if I want to learn Turkish, Norwegian, Danish, Irish, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Dutch at the same time, I can.  Yes, these are all options.  Pretty fun.

2.  Memrise.  So I just got this yesterday, but I'm already memorizing capitals of the world and body language skills.  Also a ton of languages.  Then there are a few courses on "Trees of Britain" and stuff like that.  If you need a bunch of random facts for your deductions, here you go.

3.  Any voice recorder.  For recording conversations (legally, of course) and music.  Sometimes comes free with your device under "Voice Memos."

4.  Any note app.  Also comes with device.  Take notes on stuff you see and hear.

5.  Blogger.  Okay, a lot of you readers probably have this already, but it helps me run this blog, which in itself is blissful.

Too bad there's not an app that spontaneously creates red velvet cupcakes through a built-in 3D printer. That would be cool though. : )

Signing off,
SM

List #8--Top 10 Books About Deduction/Persuasion

So I like to read.  A lot.  Yes, it is how I got to be so smart, in case you're wondering.  Here are my 10 favorite books on the topics that this site covers.  I haven't read every single word in all of them, but what I have read is good.  (I often skip around out of boredom.)

Take note:  I have not written these books, I am not in contact with the authors/illustrators/publishers, I am not selling them, I am not responsible for the content of these books.  I also have not memorized all of the information in each one, and this site is not directly based on any of these books, so if something you read is incongruous with something I've said on this site, that doesn't really mean anything.  Also, these aren't in order of importance, just the order that I think of them.
EDIT (3/23/26):  I am now adding ratings based on the ones I came up with in List #14 that are also on the home screen, as these have a lot of different content!

1.  The Deduction Guide by Louise Blackwood.  This is one of the few books on the subject which actually talks about "deduction."  It gives a lot of advice on specific deductions and memory techniques. 
Rating: 1--There's nothing violent or inappropriate in this one.

2.  Snoop by Sam Gosling, Ph.D.  This is one of my favorites because it is a scientific book about deduction.  It's all about deducing people's personalities through their stuff.  There are graphs, charts, statistics, legitimate psychology...even a few case studies.
Rating: 2--I haven't read this in awhile, but I remember that it is at a high reading level and there may be some adult topics mentioned.

3.  Split-Second Persuasion by Kevin Dutton, Ph.D.  This book, although it talks about criminals, scams, and lies in the same way a normal book would talk about, say, gardening, is very readable.  It talks about the science behind persuasion, as well as a bit of methodology.
Rating: 6--It's partially based on interviews with psychopaths, criminals, and con men.  I believe that there are also at least several references to violent and sexual subjects.

4.  Gestures: The Do's and Taboos of Body Language Around the World by Roger E. Astell.  This is a guide to many different gestures that people make in different cultures, for you body language people.  Good to know for when people make deliberate actions, rather than just scratching their neck absentmindedly.
Rating: 2--It's pretty much just a dictionary of normal gestures.  Some gestures pictured may be offensive, derogatory, or sexual in nature.

5.  Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion by Noah Goldstein  This is a nearly 100% methodology book, plus some psychology to back it up.  A ton of weird little persuasion tricks.
Rating: 1--A super easy, fun, lighthearted read.

6.  Psychology for Kids by Jonni Kincher  Actually a really good read, full of self-given psychological tests.  Not really deductive in nature, but if you're into self-discovery, it's great.
Rating: 1--It's a kids' book.

7.  Logically Fallacious by Bo Bennett.  This book is about logical argument, sort of, which is linked to deduction and other logical stuff.  It is HILARIOUS.  This book shows just how many of the supposedly strong arguments we hear every day are just nonsensical garbage.
Rating: 5--Bennett's reasoning is very formal and upstanding, but his examples are not.  They are amazing, funny examples, but often with controversial opinions, swearing, and sexual references throughout.

8.  The Little Green Book of Getting What You Want by Jeffrey Gitomer.  This book basically takes you through the process of making a sales presentation.  While I'm not really in any position to be making any sales presentations at this time, it's a good skill to know.  It talks a lot about storytelling in persuasion and sales, an essential concept.
Rating: 1--This one is pretty innocent. 

9.  I Spy by Walter Wick.  A full course in observation.  I will warn you, though, of the pain you will feel when you find everything in the picture...except that one letter of the alphabet mentioned in the middle that turns out to be hidden in the tree you already checked five times.
Rating: 1--Another kids' book.

10.  Covert Persuasion by Kevin Hogan.  I'm only halfway through this book, but it is pretty good so far.  At least half of the techniques remind me of this timeshare presentation I was given.  As in, some of them were kind of see-through, but considering the large number of other people buying the product, there had to some sort of persuasive gold in there.
Rating: 2--This one was fairly innocent, but given its mind-control approach I think it's safe to make this one a 2.

If you have any recommendations, please let me know.

Signing off,
SM

Deduction #6-- Devices and Social Media

Hello, devoted readers, and new readers, too!  I've been checking my statistics and I have almost 200 views now.  I must be doing something right here.  Or maybe I'm doing it all wrong and the world is just laughing at me.  But that's still getting views, which means, either as an informational blog or an unintentional humor blog, it's working.

Anyways, today I am talking about deductions you can make from looking at somebody's electronic devices.  As always, do this at your own risk.  (I'm thinking that should be the blog's motto--only in Latin or something.)  Here goes.

What to Look For

• If their computer/phone/music player with a screen/tablet/etc. (henceforth referred to as "device") has a passcode, password, or swiping pattern, well...I'm going to be honest here.  They don't want people like you looking through their device trying to intrude on their privacy in order to figure out things about their personality.  This may be a great revelation to you.  This may not.  Proceed with caution.
• If they do have a passcode, find a time when it would be appropriate to ask them to look at the device.  When that time is, depends on the person.  Maybe if you want to "look at their photos" or something like that.  I'd recommend guessing the password, but that's rather difficult.
• If they don't have a passcode, this might mean that they open up their phone often to take pictures, they like the convenience of instantly opening their device, they have a hard time remembering a passcode, they don't have any problems with people going through their device, and/or they do have problems with people going through their device, but are naive enough to think that nobody could possibly have any motive to do that.  (No offense, but it's always an option.  A rare one, but some people really don't have any idea, especially younger children.)
• Once you've gotten into the device, look at their apps.  (I'm basing these on most common smartphone and touchscreen device applications that people are likely to have.)
• Check any "calendar/planner" app for appointments and such.  What are they doing?  When?  With who?
• Check photos.  Food?  Selfies?  Random street signs?  Interpret these as you will.
• Check notes/reminders and the like for things like errands they have to run, diet reminders, appointment reminders, etc.
• Is the time on their phone different from the one in your time zone?  Are there any additional clocks for other places that they could have been recently, or perhaps where they have family?
• Reading and news apps can tell you a bit about their interests.
• Exercise apps tell you about their workouts, workout goals, diet goals, etc.
• If the device has music, what do they listen to?  Currently popular hits?  Different genres like rap, hip-hop, rock, country, etc.?  Instrumental?  Don't jump to any conclusions, but take note that they may listen to music while doing different activities.  Look for "workout" or "study" playlists especially.
• Music apps (like metronomes, music notes, anything like that) suggest that they play an instrument.
• Voice recorder apps...some devices come with "voice memo" things automatically, but if they have extras...come to your own conclusions.  Maybe they sing or play an instrument and need to make good recordings, but they also may use it to record others' conversations.
• What kinds of games do they have?  Do they have intellectual games, like language-learning, vocabulary, math, or something like that?  Do they have fun games like Angry Birds, Flappy Bird, stuff like that?  Do they have fun games with an intellectual edge, like 2048?  This could tell you a lot about their personality.
• Also look at social media pages and applications.
• If you know them, do the things they post reflect their personality in real life?  Do they make their life seem better or worse than it is?  Consider why that could be.
• Do they use their real name?  They probably communicate mostly with people they know, or they just aren't really concerned about their online privacy.  They are probably fairly open about their lives.  If they don't use their real name, if it's obviously made up, like FrogGirl or AngelDarkness, then they are trying to be more secretive, perhaps have a secret identity of sorts or maybe they just don't want the whole world knowing their name.  If they use the name of a fictional character, like Harry Potter or Jeff the Killer, they are generally part of that fanbase, which, depending on the fanbase in question, can tell you a bit about them or maybe not much at all.
• Do they post their own content, or do they repost/reblog/repin/share other content?  People who post their own content are generally artists, writers, opinionated people, and other creators, who are trying to share that and also enjoy the social aspect of the site.  People who share other content are generally more interested in the social aspect of passing around posts and ideas.
• Are they open about things that they haven't told you in real life?  You may have discovered something that they don't want their friends, family, or co-workers to know about, that they are sharing with the online community to get off their shoulders.  Don't mention it to them.  Or if you do...proceed with caution.
• Did they start using the social media, then stop?  They probably either had important things to do, didn't like it, or were just not motivated enough to keep going.  The last one is especially true if they have many other unfinished projects.  If you plan to enlist them in one of your projects...I'm not saying you should abandon them for life, but, be hesitant.
• Who are their friends?  Do they have hundreds, most of which probably aren't their actual friends?  Or does it seem to be people they know in real life?  Some people go online to keep in touch with people they know; some do it to meet new people.  If somebody doesn't know or get along with many people in real life, they may go online to communicate with people since they aren't very comfortable face-to-face.

Other Related Advice

• When possible, instead of taking people's devices, look them up on various social network sites from your own devices.  You'll see what they show the public and not be accused of unauthorized voyeurism.
• You can probably talk with people about their public social media pages, if it's something they're sharing with the public.  You don't have to take as much caution with this as you would with, say, the contents of their medicine cabinet.
• You also may want to get your own social media page to communicate with people.  It's optional, though, as you can generally look without signing up.
• There aren't necessarily a ton of deductions you can make from some of these things, but you should still be observant should the opportunity come up later.

Signing off,

SM

List #7--Sherlie Moriarty's Top 10 Fave Fashion Finds for Fall

I've decided that my readers needed to know a bit about me, so I've decided to tell you all about my fashion sense.  And, since at least for me, fall/autumn/that time before winter is coming up, I figured I'd focus on that.  I also think that I could write a magazine for teenagers someday.  Whether the latter is true, I don't know, but I might as well try.  (I would've added links, but I can't find any good pictures.  You can probably look these up and get a general idea.)

1.  Cuddly scarves.  I love scarves during fall and winter!  They tie together any outfit quite well.  (Get it?  TIE together?  Yes, I make too many puns.)  Infinity scarves, short scarves, wool scarves, scarves that look like snakes...anything goes.

2.  Black sweater dress.  I only have one, but that's enough.  Basically, my whole outfit is a cuddly sweater.  But it's, like, elegant, and better suited for networking at parties than cuddling on the sofa while eating Nutella.

3.  Long mysterious coat.  I bet all of you have pictured me wearing this already.  It goes especially well with a cuddly scarf, over a black sweater dress.

4.  Colorful sneakers.  As much as I like black, sapphire blue, emerald, and deep red, I like some color, too.  Sneakers that are white or black with a bit of coral, blue, magenta, pink, and the like are perfect.

5.  A crown.  Okay, I don't get many chances to wear this, unless you count the flower crown I made from some fake flowers and a pipe cleaner when I was 7 that still fits.  I do have an inexpensive necklace with a crown and some music notes on it though that is a perfect, less formal substitute.

6.  Cuff bracelets.  Especially metal ones, with designs that look kind of like Norse/Celtic mythological fantasy armor.  And that's a look you can get fairly inexpensively, without actually raiding a dragon's lair.

7.  Long-sleeved layering sweaters.  Basically thin sweatshirts, I've found these at outdoorsy, sporty, retailers, and they are great.  Even though I'm not particularly outdoorsy or sporty.  Good for in the fall where I live, when it's extremely cold in the morning but rises to about 80 degrees in the afternoon, a mystery I haven't even tried to solve.

8.  Long socks.  I love fun-patterned socks, or even just fun-colored socks.  I have penguins, argyle, apples, polka dots, and more.  Oh, and I can always roll them down if necessary.

9.   Deep blue anything.  Deep, sapphire blue is my favorite color, mostly because it's a color of intelligence.  (See my post on colors for more info on that.)  This shade of blue goes well with black, white, silver, gray, gold, and bronze.  I personally wouldn't recommend pairing it with yellow or bright green, but that's just me.

10.  Pendant necklaces.  I know, this sounds rather generic.  But I just like pendant necklaces.  You can get all sorts of pendant shapes, such as dragons, elephants, frogs, fish, and abstract shapes.  Not to mention circular or rectangular pendants with quotes and/or pictures on them, like I mentioned in #5.

So, I'm officially a fashion blogger now.  Maybe somebody from some company will find this and ask me to do reviews for them of face cream and stuff.  I don't care about face cream but I could use the free products, especially if I graduate up to clothing and electronics.  And if that does happen, don't worry, I'll be honest about my satisfaction levels.  I don't want to be like that Magic Eraser person.  I mean, I'm sure they really do like their Magic Eraser, but hiding their blog behind an infographic seems a little like false advertising to me.

Signing off,
SM

Color Psychology In Persuasion

As well as posting information on specific deductions and making lists, I thought I'd share some other psychological stuff that could be useful along the way, especially in marketing and persuasion.

This is about color psychology, as in, how people interpret the meanings of colors consciously and subconsciously.  This information is based on various online infographics, which are based mostly on the U.S. and Europe.  However, there are some other interpretations, and I will add them as I find them.  Most of these are meanings that people have assigned to colors over time, but they nonetheless react to them due to the prevalence of that interpretation.

I'm going in rainbow order, by the way.

Red:  In the West, red represents things such as action, adventure, energy, anger, aggression, courage, danger, strength, power, violence, urgency, impulse, and passion.  Deep reds suggest maturity and elegance, and warm brick reds suggest strength and sturdiness.  However, red is also commonly associated with blood and sin for obvious reasons.
In China, red is a color of good luck and often used in weddings and other celebrations.  In some religions, such as Christianity, it is a color of sacrifice.  In South Africa, it is a color of mourning.  Communism and the US Republican Party both use red to symbolize their parties.  Other cultures, however, generally interpret it to represent success, life, purity, and other positive things, similar to in the West.  Many countries use it to mean "stop."  In the popular show "Star Trek," people in red shirts always die, or so I've heard.  Whether this is connected to the "danger" interpretation, I don't know, but that is what I suspect.

Orange:  In the West, as well as other places, orange has similar meanings to red.  However, it also represents warmth and vitality, as well as friendliness, trustworthiness, and invitingness and is commonly used on sale items.  It is commonly used on lifesaving devices and other things that are supposed to be easily visible.  Perhaps because of the similarities with red, it is seen as fun and playful.  It's like red, only with a calmer energy to it.  Also the color of the royal family in the Netherlands.


Yellow:  Virtually universally, yellow represents optimism, happiness, clarity, and sunlight.  It is commonly associated with deities and enlightenment in various religions.  Motivation and creativity are also suggested.  As an attention-catching color, it is used in marketing to attract customers and in warning signs.  However, despite its generally bright interpretation, it is also a color of cowardice in Europe, the color of mourning in Egypt, a color of courage in Japan, a color of royalty in China, a color of corruption in some religions, and a color of merchants in India.  You will obviously need to know your audience when using yellow.  In the Harry Potter books, it's the color of Hufflepuffs, one of the friendliest houses at the magical school of Hogwarts.  And am I surprised?  Not really.

Gold:  Shiny, luxurious, divine, glowing, radiant, and valuable to many cultures.  Represents God's presence in Christianity, glory and divinity in Judaism, wisdom in Buddhism, and, when combined with green, paradise in Islam.

Light Green:  Green is commonly associated with nature, ecology, and the environment all over the world because it is the color of many plants due to chlorophyll which is created by chloroplasts and aids in the process of photosynthesis, which is the process that plants use to get energy from the Sun...okay, I'm rambling here.  Anyway, since nature and plants grow, and in turn help the rest of us consumers, first level or otherwise, grow, green is in turn associated with rebirth, fertility, growth, hope, and the general state of being new.  Balance and harmony add to this peaceful, circle-of-life ideology.  Light green, specifically, is soothing, calm, and refreshing.  In Ireland, it represents the whole country, as well as the prevalent Catholic religion.  In China and Japan, it represents life and health (other presumably nature-based interpretations).  In the US, it is commonly used around Christmas (a Christian gift-giving holiday that's actually rather commercialized here) and to represent money, because American money is green.  (To those of you who haven't been to America, the fact that when Americans see green, they often think about money more than nature says a lot about the country as a whole.)  

Dark Green:  Basically like light greens, the nature connection perhaps greater.  It's also woodsy, traditional, luxurious, and prosperous.  It sometimes suggests greed because darker green=more money, in the American interpretation.  In Harry Potter, green is the color of Slytherins, a Hogwarts house full of people who are widely considered to be evil.  This is possibly because of the association with money and greed.

Teal/Turquoise Blue/Light Blue:  Blue is commonly used in marketing, as it has a lot of positive interpretations in a lot of places.   Some interpret it to represent trust, safety, security, and peace of mind.  Some use it to represent intelligence, wisdom, and inspiration.  (I like this one myself.)  Blue is even a color of tranquility, calmness, and soothing.  Like yellow, it often has religious interpretations, possibly because it is the color of the sky and heaven, as yellow is the color of the Sun, a prominent heavenly body.  Christians consider it to be the color of Christ, Jews consider it a holy color, and Hindus consider it to be the color of Krishna, one of their many deities.  In Iran, it is a color of heaven and spirituality, as well as mourning.  One culture, however, that does not associate blue with positivity, is the Cherokee culture of North America.  They consider blue to be a color of trouble and defeat.  I'm sure that there are other cultures with different interpretations of it too, so do your research.

Dark Blue:  Dark blue has most of the same meanings as light blue; I just put them there so I wouldn't have to repeat.  Common in business as a "serious"color, often worn by Western professionals and an acceptable color to write important things in, probably due to readability. US Democrat color.

Purple:  Due to the use of expensive purple dyes in Europe for the clothing of royalty, purple is commonly used in the West to signify nobility, wealth, and, by extension, arrogance.  (I like this interpretation too...not only do I look okay in purple clothes, I also look rather good in a crown.) Purple is also an imaginative, creative, magical, mysterious, quirky kind of color, probably because it is not used very much in modern Western government and business, so it's very free and unaffiliated.  It can be dramatic, enchanting, and expressive.  Purple also has a spiritual, introspective connotation.  However, in many countries, it is the color of mourning and/or death.  In Judaism, it represents purification of sin.  Another color where you really have to know your audience.  Lighter shades are similar to pink, romantic and springy.  (see below)

Pink:  It isn't really on the rainbow spectrum, so I decided to place it after purple.  In the West, it's often a girly, feminine, romantic, lovey-dovey, innocent, happy color.  However, it sometimes broadcasts more general messages of gentleness, tranquility, compassion, and softness.  More muted shades of pink are considered to be wistful, sentimental, and nostalgic, possibly due to the greater popularity of the color in earlier times, such as the Victorian Era in the West.

Brown:  So, this color I'm writing in is actually a dark red, I think, but it looks like brown to me, and it's the color of red velvet cake anyway, so I don't care.  If it's not readable, though, please let me know. (I highlighted that part in white/black/however it comes out on the blog [I hope] so you can in fact read whether it's readable or not...you know what I mean.)  Anyways, brown is the color of the Earth, and, at least in the West, a color of stability, trustworthiness, credibility, simplicity, and general back-to-basics methodology.  Also a color of comfort in some places, but a color of mourning in parts of Asia.  I kind of see how those could go together, though.

White:  I'm not at all sure how this will come out on the blog page, as it automatically turns black to white, but here goes.  White is a color of purity, health, peace, and other such pure things in the West, and even other places,  which kind of makes sense, as white is the absence of color. White absorbs no light.  However, this led to the idea that having lighter hair and skin was better than having darker hair and skin, in many places actually, which made no sense and has led to years of discrimination and general irrationality.  This is leading to a new idea that white is the color of mayonnaise, bureaucracy, American suburbia, and other things that lack color, culture or flavor.  Sterility and simplicity describe this well.  That's fine by me, because I always thought white to be rather boring myself, especially in comparison to black.

Cream/Ivory:  Similar to white, only a little more substantial.  Similar connotations of blandness.

Tan/Beige:  Very conservative, very bland.  Not necessarily at the same time though.  A lot like white and cream/ivory.

Black:  This will probably come out in white on the blog, but at least I can highlight it in black if it doesn't work out.  Black is all the colors mixed together into one!  Black is everything!  (I might be slightly biased here as I wear a lot of black.)  Black has had a lot of negative interpretations, such as death, evil, negativity, intimidation, and other undesirable things.  This doesn't really make sense, and it has also led to the idea of dark hair and skin being negative, which is (still) irrational, and even makes people less likely to adopt darkly colored pets.  However, in some cultures, black represents health, stability, mystery, and other positive aspects.  The use of black to represent mystery is spreading more, which a deductionist like myself can certainly appreciate.  Power and elegance are similar positive connotations, which I can definitely appreciate.

Gray:  A color of moderation if there ever was one.  Between black and white, absorbing color to some degree but not completely.  Calm, middle-of-the-road, neutral messages all around.

This is what I have for now; adding more later.
Signing off,
SM
Oh, and here are my sources.  Some of them I couldn't get good links for, so I couldn't include them, but most of the facts came from these ones:
-http://www.webpagefx.com/blog/web-design/psychology-of-color-infographic/
-something from this awfully confusing page (I found these through Pinterest):  http://www.ucreative.com/inspiration/35-cool-infographics-for-web-and-graphic-designers/
-http://visual.ly/meaning-colour-marketing
-http://visual.ly/psychology-colour
-something supposedly from here:  http://cheezburger.com/7941226496?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+graphjam+%28GraphJam%3A+Pop+culture+for+people+in+cubicles.%29
-another one for which the link lead to a blog post somebody wrote about the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and a ton of things you could do with it and not an actual infographic

Deduction #5--Clothing and Beauty

I'm back...I apologize for the 2nd long hiatus!  I had even more work to do...this time involving bears, pyramids,  a giant flaming metal praying mantis, and some rather suspicious mountain squirrels.

I'm going to do some deductions based on what one can find in a friend, co-worker, teacher, higher-up, or even an interviewer or therapist's home or office.  As always, do this at your own risk.  Don't break into people's houses or anything illegal like that.

Things to Look For

• If you have access to a collection of somebody's clothes (such as a closet, suitcase, or other storage area), observe what sorts of clothes they have.  Do they generally wear pastel, floral patterns in public, but have a lot of dark-colored outfits?  Do they normally dress professionally but have a lot of rugged clothes designed for exercise or other outdoor activities?  Your average subject should have a variety of outfits for different situations, and observing the different styles can tell you about their activities and interests.  This is especially useful if you normally see them wearing a uniform or some other form of professional clothing.  
• Less serious clothes with bright pictures, funny sayings, pop culture references, innovative shapes, and the like suggest a playful side to your subject's personality.  Clothes that are specific to an interest or subculture (such as rock band t-shirts) suggest that they are interested in that.  More serious clothes with solid colors, more traditional shapes, and the like suggest a more serious side to the personality.
• If you have access to a collection of somebody's beauty/self-care products (such as a bathroom, shaving kit, or makeup bag), take note of what they have.  They will probably have the "regular" set of products--in my area, generally a toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, hairbrush, and maybe dental floss.  Of course, this varies by location and availability, as certain environments and cultures use different things.
• Shampoos and conditioners for "color protection" and the like suggest that they dye their hair.  This may be obvious (for example, if their hair is neon blue and hot pink), or it may not be obvious (for example, if their hair is a very natural-looking shade of black).
• Scented products (soaps, bubble baths, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants, etc.) suggest a desire to smell good as well as be clean.  Unscented products suggest a more pragmatic desire for cleanliness.  Perfumes are definitely used to smell good.
• Makeup products will vary based on skin tone and type.  Special "sensitive skin," "breakout-free," or "oil-free" products are commonly used by people with acne or rash problems.  Moisturizing products are commonly used by people with dry skin, especially in the fall and winter, when the weather dries out skin easily.
• Darker, brighter lipsticks/eyeshadows/eyeliners are generally used by people with darker skin tones or by people with lighter skin tones who want their makeup to stand out a lot.  The same goes for metallic products.  Assuming you are familiar with your subject's skin tone, you can deduce from there whether it is meant to be more or less noticeable.
• Foundations, powders, and other skin products that are in various shades of brown, black, or white are generally meant to even out the skin tone.  If you do not already know their skin tone, this may give you a hint.  However, people with very light or very dark skin may not have a perfectly matching color due to the fact that not all makeup companies make products for those tones.
• Hair products for especially thin, thick, straight, frizzy, wavy, or curly hair will tell you about your subject's hair texture.  Also useful for when you are unfamiliar with their appearance.
• Vitamins, supplements, and medications suggest a concern for one's health.  This is a rather sensitive subject for some people, so I would recommend that you do not ask any prying questions about it.
• Small samples of things suggest that your subject is an avid traveler, as airlines have limits on the amounts of things and it is helpful to pack lightly.  They also may suggest a cautious personality, as some people like to try things in small amounts before they buy large packages.

Other Related Advice

• If you are concerned about anything personal, especially related to health, don't ask straight-out personal questions.  Ask a person how they feel, how they're doing, or something else polite.  If something is seriously wrong, they may tell you.  If they say they're fine, figure they really are fine or just don't want to talk about it and change the subject.
• Skin or hair products incongruous with the person's skin or hair type suggest that the products are versatile, or perhaps that they belong to somebody else.  If they know that you have access to these things, you can ask a general question like, "Hey, I noticed you have some of that new aloe lotion.  Is it any good?"  They'll tell you if it works for them, if it belongs to somebody else, or if they bought it but were dissatisfied.  Keep this information for later, especially their reasons for why it works/doesn't work if the product is theirs.  It may give you insight into other peoples' preferences if they have similar skin or hair types.
• Makeup is often used in the performing arts, such as dance and theatre, and professional quality products (such as special effects makeup) may suggest that career or hobby of theirs.  It will also explain unnatural colors or unusual products.
• This is the perfect example of a deduction in which observation is key.  You probably won't be able to make many precise deductions here, due to the fact that these things don't necessarily say much about personality, but it is good to observe in case an idea comes to you later.

Signing off,
SM

List #6--5 Ways to Use Deductions in Conjunction with Holidays

Surprisingly, there is a lot to deduce around the holidays.  I actually haven't quite figured out why that is, except for the fact that surprises, spontaneity, and other things of the sort often come into play which just beg to be guessed at beforehand.

Note:  This is based on the holidays that I and other people commonly celebrate in the United States.  I am not an expert on this, so if there is something I need to take into consideration or a holiday I might have forgotten, please let me know.

1.  Gift-Giving Holidays (GGH) of Any Sort (birthdays, Easter, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah)--Probably some of the best deductions can be made about what, in fact, is inside those beautifully wrapped packages that people give you around the holidays.  List #5, Item #9 describes this somewhat.

2.  GGH, (continued)--You can also deduce what other peoples' presents are, too, although they may be upset if you spoil the surprise for them.  Proceed at your own risk, as always.

3.  Halloween, or any holiday that involves costumes--This may be a bit easier or harder, but you can make deductions about people based on their costumes.  It can tell you about fictional characters they like, interests in general, career plans, and more.

4.  Thanksgiving--Okay, this is fairly easy.  What people are thankful for tells you a lot about their personal values.  Seems obvious, but people will still probably be impressed.

5.  Valentine's Day--I haven't tested this, because I have never had a"Valentine" on Valentine's Day, but you could probably impress said Valentine with deductive reasoning.  Of course, you could also make them very mad, and nobody wants to break up on Valentine's Day, so I'm not really sure if this is such a good idea.  (And if you're wondering why I've never had a Valentine, that's just because dating's not my thing.)

As always, there may be a sequel to this list.

Signing off,
SM

Deduction #4--Summer Deductions

Hello, my fellow deductionists!  I apologize for the long hiatus, but I was unexpectedly called away to solve various cases across the country.  I can't tell you everything due to secrecy and all, but there were rooftops; dark, mysterious buildings; some wild dogs; and red velvet cupcakes involved.  (For your information, I love red velvet cookies, cakes, cupcakes, etc.  It's the most sophisticated-looking, dark, mysterious cake color there is.  A little strawberry frosting, though pink and not at all mysterious, doesn't hurt.)

Anyway, I'm back now with summer-related deductions!  I'm definitely writing up "theme" deductions, because there are thousands of individual deductions I could write about and I, like you, have other things to do with my life.  Like eating red velvet cupcakes and, well, solving cases.

Please note:  I understand that in some places, it is currently winter rather than summer due to geographical location.  Also, summer activities may vary from place to place.  These are based on my personal experience, and I will add more posts about this later if necessary.

What to Look For

• If somebody's hair is a lot lighter than usual, they could spend a lot of time in the sun and/or swim.  Chlorine from chlorinated pools sometimes lightens hair.  Swimmers may also have wet hair a lot of the time.
• Assuming the school year runs from approx. September-May/June, if somebody is the "right" age for each grade (Not that there's anything wrong with being older or younger, just what people consider to be the "right" age, such as 8 years old for 3rd grade in the U.S.), they may have a birthday in the summer.  Well, pretty much any time except for fall or early winter, as they are often put a year back due to having a fall birthday.  However, it lets you eliminate a few months.
• If a person has any sand-covered possessions or articles of clothing, they have likely been to the beach.  This is also probable if any of their things smell like saltwater.
• You can often tell if somebody has been on vacation if the time zone on a portable device of theirs is set to that of another country and/or they have souvenirs from somewhere.  Certainly not an exhaustive list, but that was all I could think of for the time being.
• If you're interested in summer activities, you may want to try looking at Deduction #3.

Other Related Advice

• If you're a student and you don't get to see your school friends over the summer, I would recommend that you study deduction in your spare time over the summer, then surprise them in the fall with deductions you make about them.
• If you go to a summer camp, a conference, or any other event over the summer where there are a lot of people you don't know, proceed with caution when it comes to deductions.  Some people in these situations will not be amused.

Signing off,

SM

Cases

If you have any cases that you would like me to solve, please let me know.  Some guidelines:

Cases That Should Be Submitted
-deductions you've started to make, but need an outside opinion on
-harmless urban legends or rumors to be theorized upon and/or debunked
-science/logic-related questions that I can answer to the best of my ability
-pictures of stuff that you'd like deductions to be made about (Some other bloggers have looked at photos of things like peoples' desks, which seems to be a bit of an invasion of privacy to me but if you want that kind of thing done go ahead.)
-conspiracy theories  (This is just for fun.) 
-small cases in a school or workplace that an outsider could give ideas on

Cases That Should NOT Be Submitted
-anything the police would normally deal with
-matters of national/global security
-anything involving private personal information, classified government information, or other things that shouldn't be put on the Internet

Please use common sense, and contact legal authorities if there is anything serious going on.

I look forward to getting case submissions, and I will try my best to post solutions on this blog or contact you privately if that is more appropriate.  If you only want me to contact you privately, just let me know in the contact.

Signing off,
SM

List #5--10 Things You Probably Didn't Realize Had to Do with Deduction

Once I discovered my cool new hobby about a year and a half ago, I started to realize that observation and deduction were present in a lot of things I had done before, and maybe that's why I found it so interesting.  Here are some places you may have seen these topics before.

1.  Logic word puzzles.  No real observation, but a lot of deduction.  An easy sample:
Bob, Rosa, and Kim have three cats between them.  One cat is black, one is gray, and one is orange.  Neither Bob nor Kim has the orange cat, Kim does not have the gray cat, and Rosa does not have the black cat.

2.  Venn diagram puzzles.  Also a logic puzzle, only sometimes with pictures, so perhaps somewhat observational.  I can't really show an example, but there are plenty on the Internet, which you can probably access if you are reading this blog.

3.  Mathematical proofs.  These are either the best or the worst part of Geometry classes, depending on whom you ask.  These are definitely an example of true deductive reasoning; taking a pre-established idea and proving it.  (Many of the deductions I write about are actually inductions, but I use the term deduction because it is more common.  Also, induction is a type of stove.)

4.  I Spy books, Hidden Pictures, etc.  These are not really deduction, but observation.  You might have liked these as a young child, looking for all the details in a picture.  I was addicted.  Great training!

5.  Blue's Clues.  An American show for preschoolers that aired on Nickolodeon in the 2000's, this program taught viewers a bit about how to solve a basic mystery.  (click link for more)  Though there were more snacks and visits to the talking mailbox than office/desk observation or graphology, this show taught me to connect clues, talk to people involved in a case, and to keep good notes in my handy-dandy notebook.

6.  Learning a second (or third, or fourth) language.  Whether you're figuring out the genders of words, making connections between words in a new language and your first one, or even just trying to figure out how to read a short article, you will have to find evidence and make connections.

7.  Persuasion.  I've mentioned persuasion on this blog a couple of times now, and you may have wondered why.  Wonder no longer!  Persuading people involves reading their body language, understanding what's important to them, and other things that overlap with deduction.  You may even need to deduce things about someone before you can persuade them, or persuade people to give you information for your deductions.  Whatever the case, it's another great skill to have.

8.  Interviews.  Interviewers, which can include a lot of different types of people, will generally pay some attention to your body language and clothing, whether it be conscious or subconscious.  If you're in somebody's office, you may be able to deduce things about them to help impress them.  And, if you're being more interrogated for any reason (which is probably bad, I must say), police and government officials have actual body language training, so you have to be pretty careful.  You probably won't be in that situation, though.

9.  Opening presents.  If you have ever been given presents, they have probably been wrapped.  If you haven't received wrapped presents, you should either congratulate your friends and relatives on their environmentally-friendly giving practices, or tell them to add a bit of wrapping (such as reusable cloth or recycled newspaper) to give you more of a challenge.  One fun thing to do is to run your hands around your wrapped gifts, shake them a bit, and look at the shape to guess what they are.  Be careful, though, as multi-time gift givers may get a bit annoyed and put multiple gifts of yours in rectangular boxes in an attempt to deter you.  (You know who you are.)

10.  Health classes and babysitting courses.  Back in my health class days, I learned a bit about how to tell if somebody has a heart attack, the specific effects of drugs, and stuff like that.  So it wasn't totally useless.  In a babysitting course (the American Red Cross one), I learned all about how to tell if a room is safe for a young child, how to tell if toys are safe, how to tell if kids aren't feeling well, etc.  Some pretty applicable stuff if you ask me.  (Safety Note:  If you do have reason to believe that any bad things are happening, solve the problem or get the help that you need.)

Hopefully, you have noticed some examples of deduction in your life and have gotten some new ideas.  As always, let me know if you have anything you would like to add to this (or any other) lists!

Signing off,
SM
  

List #4--5 Ways to Impress People with Deduction

Chances are, part of the reason you want to learn deduction is to impress people.  Even if that wasn't it, it's fun to freak people out sometimes.  Here are 5 ways to do that; use at your own risk.  If you think your target will react negatively, don't do it!

1.  Attempt to figure out which hand they write with, then ask.  It's a really unusual question that most people don't get asked very often.  If you were right, then explain your reasoning, if you were wrong, explain your attempted reasoning.  People generally find this kind of interesting.

2.  Learn how to do one of those card tricks that involves lie detection.  This time, don't explain your reasoning.  (In the one I know, ask somebody to tell you an obvious truth, then an obvious lie.  Note the "tells" that mean they're lying.  Ask them to pick a card and remember it.  Shuffle the deck, then pick up the cards and ask them questions and stuff, remembering the tells.  I've never tried this, but I've seen it done in real life and on this National Geographic show called Brain Games.  Seemed cool.)

3.  When in a public place with somebody, just observe stuff.  Don't even make complicated deductions.  Just talk about the world around you.  "There's a bird in the dark corner of that roof ornamentation!"  "I wonder why that fence is open; obviously nobody is using it because there are no footprints or tracks going through it and it's snowing."  People will generally be at least a bit pleased, if not totally impressed.

4.  Based on something in somebody's personality, imagine what they were like when they were younger.  This is less deductive and more imaginative, but base your ideas on their current actions.  Ask them a question about this.  It's pretty shocking.

5.  Deduce peoples' interests based on their possessions.  People will often forget that they are carrying their French book or wearing their lacrosse jacket.  Point it out, so they don't think you were following them or anything.

More of these will come as I post more related deductions!

Signing off,
SM

List #3--10 Reasons to Learn Deduction

Firstly, I'm sorry that the other lists got mixed up...I don't know how that happened!  Must be the order in which I posted after copying and pasting some stuff.

Anyway, if anybody asks you why you're doing this, here are 10 reasons.

1.  It's fun to impress people with hidden knowledge about them.

2.  It's also fun to annoy people with weird questions.

3.  You wanted something to put on your college applications/resume.  (If you're a student, this impresses nearly everybody.  Whether deduction is accepted as a skill on any paperwork like this, I don't know.)

4.  It's cool to pretend to be psychic.

5.  You actually are psychic, and you don't want anybody to know.

6.  It is useful in science, crime scene investigation, etc.

7.  You can get to know people better.

8.  Deducing things about your surroundings is fun when you're bored.

9.  Air travel, train rides, and any other "boring" travel with strangers just got a lot more interesting.

10.  Your peers may think you are a genius, even if you aren't that great at anything else.

Signing off,
SM

List #1--5 Common Problems and Solutions When Starting in Deduction

This is my first list!  It seemed like a good place to start.

5 Common Problems and Solutions When Starting in Deduction

1.  Problem: Google, Amazon, etc. always gives you a bunch of results about tax deductions.
Solution:  Search for "deductive reasoning" or "logical deduction."

2.  Problem:  Resources on deductive reasoning focus on dull, boring, formal logic.  Which in some uses of the term, it can be.
Solution:  Look for specific things, such as things relating to peoples' personal possessions or body language.

3.  Problem:  Any books at the library about deductive topics are hard to find.  (Most searches for the topic, I've found, come up with formal logic books or ANY detective book)
Solution:  If you do want to find relevant books, try looking up "body language," and just check around the psychology section in general.  Marketing is also sometimes relevant for the persuasive arts, as well as any resource on human communication.

4.  Problem:  People may sometimes ask if you think you are some kind of detective and tell you to not try anything that's too "out of your depth."
Solution:  This is more common if you are a student.  In this case, assure the concerned parties that you are not actually solving crimes or putting yourself in dangerous situations, and that you are simply studying a form of behavioral psychology.

5.  Problem:  People may also assume that the only reason you like deduction is that you're a Sherlock/Psych/[any detective show with deduction] fan.  Though that's certainly where many people get their start, it's not the be-all, end-all of deduction.  Deduction is not just for detectives!
Solution:  Just explain what you're actually doing to anybody curious.  They'll probably find it kind of cool.

Signing off,
SM

List #2--10 Careers That Use Deductive Reasoning And/Or Persuasion

10 Careers That Use Deductive Reasoning And/Or Persuasion
(note:  I'm no career expert, but I once took a course on career investigation and learned a bit about career clusters, some oddly specific jobs in manufacturing, and how to get high scores on free Flash games, so I'm doing my best.)

1.  Detective.  Yes, as I just said, it's not the only job, but I had to put it there to get it over with.

2.  Lawyer.  Lawyers actually need to know a lot about law, logic, logical fallacies, etc.

3.  Psychiatrist.  While all of it may not be deduction, it involves analyzing people a lot.

4.  Psychologist.  Not necessarily direct observation of people, but learning about them.

5.  Girl Scout cookie seller (or other door-to-door salesperson).  Figure out if people are home or not by looking at their driveway and house!  Look for paw prints in the snow when strolling the neighborhood in the winter!  Look at peoples' stick figure families on their minivan windows!  Hours of observational fun.

6.  Teacher.  There's a lot of persuasion and deduction to be done when elementary-age children are involved.  How can I get this one child to do their homework?  Who did that graffiti?  A teacher has to be very observant of students, and a very good persuader, or chaos ensues.

7.  Counselor.  Kind of like psychiatrist and teacher, only a little less science-y than the former and a little more personally involved than the latter.  A counselor learns a lot about peoples' personal lives, and has to know at least a bit about body language.

8.  Marketer.  For the persuaders.  Basically, get people to give you money, or get paid to get people to give somebody else money.  Often takes some awareness of what people actually want and other human behavior knowledge.

9.  Magician/Psychic Performer.  Not everybody knows very much about deduction, and it is the natural reaction of some people to assume that it is actually psychic ability.

10.  Anything that involves exploring an office building.  The office is often the window to the soul.  Gaze upon pictures of employees' pets, or better yet, notice the fur on the inside of their coat and ask "Dog or cat?" when you finally meet them.  If you're more of an office-job kind of person, you still have opportunities!

Signing off,
SM

Introduction to Lists

After all these serious posts about deduction stuff, I thought I'd add something a little more light-hearted:  Lists!!!

Yes, I read clickbait articles from time to time and regularly visit Pinterest.  I like making "Top 10 lists" and I find them a good way to communicate a small number of ideas.

Don't take any of the lists too seriously; these are supposed to be lighthearted and there will be some items put there for comedic effect.  You'll know which ones these are.  I also want to list things that people might be able to relate to in the deduction world.  For this reason, I am taking suggestions from readers.

Rules for Suggestions:
1.  Nothing that would be inappropriate for anybody under the age of 13.  Though the information may be a bit complex for younger readers, this blog is not meant to be obscene or offensive.
2.  Anything that has to do with deduction is pretty much accepted.  It can include things about resources, experiences, or just more advice that would work well as a list.

I will create most of the lists, but I will take all the suggestions that I can.

Signing off,
SM

Deduction #3--Activities

Today's deduction is about how to tell what kinds of activities somebody does in their free time.  This is kind of in the same vein as "interests," and most of those deductions apply to this too.  That post was more about interests regarding things that they like to look at, read, watch, etc., like the color red, triangles, dogs, or the show "Steven Universe."  As always, these will go from easiest to hardest.

What to Look For

• As I've said before, listen to people when they talk!  With activity interests, these may come into conversation casually, so listen closely.  For example, somebody may mention that they have lacrosse practice that afternoon, or that they've been getting ready to perform in a band concert.
• Look at outfits/appearance.  This can work on multiple levels.  
• More obviously, somebody may be wearing a jacket from their sports team, a t-shirt from a camp, club, or organization, or a uniform of some sort.  
• If they play outdoor field sports a lot, they may have mud on their clothes if they play on a natural field.  Mud would also be common from mountain biking, hiking, and other sports in natural surroundings.  
• If they have recently come from swimming, kayaking, canoeing, or another water sport, they and/or their clothes may be somewhat wet.
• Chalk on clothing or skin suggests rock climbing, gymnastics, or other sports that involve gripping onto things, often indoor.
• Paint, marker, pencil, pen, and other artistic supplies on skin or clothing suggest an artist.  Drawings on the skin are common in students and are generally a sign of a creative personality.  Notes on the skin show that a person can be forgetful, or more generally, feels a need to have something written on them, which could actually be a number of things.  Since people write with their dominant hands, these will be on the opposite arm, wrist, or hand of their dominant one, another way to deduce that.  If it is written on the non-dominant appendage, it has most likely been written or drawn by somebody else, perhaps an artistic friend.
• This could also apply to a student or office worker who needs to write things manually.  In this case, it will generally be smudges of pencil, pen, or marker.  Additionally, writing manually for long periods will cause a large callous to be formed on the middle or ring finger of the dominant hand, as well as some other marks on the thumb and index finger.  This is yet another way to deduce dominant hand.
• Musicians can have a variety of different hand callouses based on their instrument.  I do not know all of these, and I would suggest that you look this up if you are curious or try to use common sense.
• Look at materials that they have.
• Artists may have sketchbooks; notebooks; a variety of pens, pencils or markers; things that they have made or specific supplies if they have come from a studio or a class; and/or books about art.
• Athletes may have sports equipment; water bottles; duffle bags; string backpacks (easy to carry athletic shoes in); an extra pair of shoes; and/or small, healthy snacks.
• Musicians may have instruments or sheet music.
• People involved in performance arts (theatre, dance, chorus/choir, perhaps rhythmic gymnastics) may have costumes, makeup, special shoes, scripts, hair supplies, sheet music, and other things specific to their art.
• Video gamers may carry handheld consoles or play a lot of games on their touchscreen devices.  Of course, most gaming supplies will be left at home.

Other Related Advice

• People will generally only have their personal interest materials with them during work/school if the activity is part of their job or they are using it in a class.  However, students also participate in extra-curricular activities directly after school lets out, and would need to bring their things to school because they do not have time to stop at home between school and the activity.  Some of the activities take place at school.  But, some people (artists and writers especially) will carry their things (sketchbooks, notebooks) with them if they have chances to work on these projects during their free time between tasks.
• With that in mind--a lot of these things are things that people do at home, outside of work/school.  As I mentioned in Deduction #2, people will often wear things that represent their interests, such as a necklace with a pendant in the shape of a treble clef if they like music.
• If you have access to a person's online profiles (Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+, Facebook, YouTube, etc.), this may give some insight.

This should be enough information to get you started on deducing what activities people enjoy!  This topic will probably be touched on again later with more specific information, so stay tuned.

Signing off,

SM

Deduction #2--Interests In Person

Today, I have some more easy deductions...this time about what people are interested in!  This may seem really easy to discern, but the difficulty of such a task is almost always inversely proportional to how close you are to the person or group of people.  More simply, the closer you are to them, the easier it is to figure out, but you may not be especially close to them for any number of reasons, so that is where this deduction comes in!

What to Look For

• The easiest thing, of course, is to listen to people as they are talking to you.  Being a good listener is key to being a good deductionist, because it is impossible to make deductions without getting some sort of information.  Also, many people believe that being a good listener is key to being a good friend.  Of course, that's different for different people, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
• If this person likes graphic t-shirts, these often reflect interests.  There are many t-shirts, sweatshirts, jewelry pieces, shoes, leggings, lanyards, belts, suspenders, and even tattoos that have designs related to shows, books, music, science, etc.  Some of these are more subtle, such as morse code bracelets or quote t-shirts, but if this is a person whom you have reason to talk to, you can always ask.  Many people love to talk about their apparel, especially if it is more subtle.
• If somebody you don't know very well, but still talk to, "geeks out" (for lack of a better term) over something; as in, goes on a bit of a friendly rant about it, listen closely.  Ask questions.  These discussions will generally not only reveal information about the thing they are so interested in, but also about what they like about it and why they like it.  This, in turn, can tell you a bit about their character, which is one good reason to figure out interests in the first place.
• If a person frequently carries school supplies, books, briefcases, backpacks, or other personal possessions, take a look if possible.  Notebooks sometimes have designs on the covers, some of which are hand-drawn, which suggests artistic tendencies, or perhaps a tendency to spend time with artists.  Backpacks sometimes have pins or decorations on them.  This is good if you are not close to the person or comfortable talking to them, because these are things that they are generally trying to show the world.
• If you have a chance to listen to peoples' conversations, you can do so, but only if it is something public, i.e. something they are discussing in a public place.  Don't follow people, record them, or anything like that, as that is a major breach of privacy and actually illegal in some capacities.

Other Related Advice
--  It's okay for some of your information to be seemingly obvious; it makes your job a lot easier and you can build on that information to deduce more complex things.
-- You shouldn't read peoples' personal files without their permission, but it's okay to look at the outside cover of notebooks, folders, etc.
-- Of course, the things that people want to show the world about themselves may all be part of an elaborate ruse or other sort of cunning stratagem, but that's for the posts about identifying deception.
-- It's a good idea to look up things you don't know.  If you see a strange stuffed keychain on somebody's backpack, you can and should look it up on the Internet, or ask somebody about it.

I will post more about deducing interests later, but this is already a lot of information as is and I do not want to confuse anybody!  Though deduction can be complex, it does not have to be impossible to figure out.

Signing off,
SM

Deduction #1--Dominant Hand

It took me a while to figure out which deduction I should post first, but I decided to start with one of the most fun and easy:  How to figure out what a person's dominant hand is!  And, in case you were wondering, according to the National Geographic Kids' Almanac from 2010 (or whatever name they had for it), nobody is truly ambidextrous.  It's possible for people to use both hands for some tasks, but that's normal.

What to Look For

• Watch people as they write.  This is the simplest, most direct way to figure it out.  Never overlook the obvious!  It is a common mistake to attempt to deduce something in a roundabout, complicated way, only to find that the information is, literally, right in front of you.  Or perhaps, in this case, 'write' in front of you.  :)
• Look to see if a person wears a watch.  They will generally wear it on the wrist opposite their dominant hand to avoid damaging it.  This isn't always true, though, as some people have an easier time reaching back with their dominant hand to put it on that wrist.
• If a person wears a lot of bracelets on both wrists, and there are varied types, check to see if one arm has more of the "sturdier" bracelets such as rubber or perhaps Paracord.  This is probably the dominant hand, as more delicate bracelets made of embroidery floss and/or beads could tear and/or fall off.
• Though many young people these days have learned to multitask with their gadgetry, at least some people will operate their touchscreen devices with their dominant hand.

The real fun in this is asking people to see if your deduction is correct.  It's a fairly harmless, not-too-sensitive thing to inquire about and can be very impressive if you are confident enough!

Signing off,

SM

A Quick Note Before I Continue

Hello fellow deductionists,

As I run this blog, I would love to hear any questions of yours or stories about deductions you are trying to make or have made.  I will be as nonjudgmental as possible and give any advice I can.  I know it is hard to feel confident about your skills, due to the confusing nature of deduction, but all of us are learning!  As long as you are being respectful--something I'll cover shortly--you should be proud of yourself for what you can do.

And as for respectful...I should tell you up front that there are some things you really shouldn't do when deducing things.  While it's fun to ask people awkward questions to see if your deductions are correct, you shouldn't ask about personal or sensitive things, especially if you don't know them.

You should not pry into things about somebody's illnesses, mental disorders, sexual orientations, genders, races, ethnicities, disabilities, or anything you wouldn't want somebody to ask you about.

You also shouldn't make assumptions about somebody based on any of these things, as that is stereotypical, not logical, and very disrespectful.

I'm not here to tell you everything there is to know about respect and justice; there are many other wonderful blogs, sites, and other resources to teach you what you want to know and I am not qualified to talk about the intricacies of serious issues.  However, I do believe that deductive reasoning is not an excuse to get into people's serious business.

Making people slightly uncomfortable by telling them you know what hand they write with is one thing; making people very uncomfortable by making disrespectful assumptions is another.

Also, if you think of yourself as an "amateur Sherlock" type who is trying to solve mysteries in your high school or community or whatever, I would not recommend solving actual murders or anything like that because that is really dangerous if you do not have proper equipment or training.

So, as a disclaimer, I am not responsible for what you do with this information.  I have given you these warnings, and I hope that you will use your common sense to deduce carefully and wisely!

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to my blog!
My name is Sherlie Moriarty, and I am an amateur deductionist.
You may have heard of deductive reasoning in relation to Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew, or basically detectives in general.  In essence, deductive reasoning has to do with analyzing peoples' body language, mannerisms, appearance, words, and possessions to come to rational conclusions.  It is also called "deduction" for short.

Notice that I say rational.  A deduction is never valid without solid evidence.  It's not based on personal biases, assumptions, or stereotypes.

For example, if I looked at a cat walking with its owner and "deduced" that it must be a YouTube star because there are a lot of feline YouTube stars, that would not be valid.  Just because cats are often seen on YouTube, or stereotypically seen on YouTube, doesn't mean that every cat has its own channel and millions of devoted fans.

However, if there were people lined up outside a building to see a cat, and said cat was going to be  playing piano, then I could safely assume that the cat had reached fame somehow, possibly through YouTube or another Internet video site, maybe television.  That, or it was locally famous from a county talent show.  Part of deduction is keeping your mind open to different possibilities.

I hope this clears up what deduction is in general, and most of my posts will be about specific techniques.  I am still learning a lot, and if you have anything to share, add, or correct I encourage you to comment!