# Sherlock Holmes: A study in typing, S vs. N



## I Kant (Jan 19, 2013)

I think he is an ISTP taken to fictional levels of competence in some matters.


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## CorrosiveThoughts (Dec 2, 2013)

ISTP. 

However, his older brother, Mycroft Holmes is almost definitely an INTP. He's described as having far more in deductive powers than Sherlock, but as lacking the energy or interest to pursue detective work. 



> ...he has no ambition and no energy. He will not even go out of his way to verify his own solutions, and would rather be considered wrong than take the trouble to prove himself right. Again and again I have taken a problem to him, and have received an explanation which has afterwards proved to be the correct one. And yet he was absolutely incapable of working out the practical points...
> 
> —Sherlock Holmes, speaking of his brother in "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter"





> The conclusions of every department are passed to him, and he is the central exchange, the clearinghouse, which makes out the balance. All other men are specialists, but his specialism is omniscience.


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## Pucca (Jun 13, 2012)

If it were a question between Ne and Ni, I would definitely say Ne. Taking in massive loads of information at a glance, making connections, eliminating possibilities, and drawing conclusions is Ne at work. It is explosive brain power and a rush, very addictive. Ni needs time to study the scene, to percolate, and to come to "the" conclusion. From what I've read of Se and Si, neither seem to fit the mental processes I see at work in Sherlock.


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## koalaroo (Nov 25, 2011)

The way he takes everything in and deduces is Se-Ni at work.


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## Hosker (Jan 19, 2011)

I don't think one should assume he uses Se just because he's observant. He sees collecting evidence and being able to read people as essential to being a good detective, and he has trained himself to do so. If I were to guess, I would say xNTJ. He deducting seems Ni-ish, and his personality seems like one.


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## bearotter (Aug 10, 2012)

I confess to not have read extensively, and be clouded by presentations outside books to an extent too.
But from what I do know, he seems to be someone who doesn't repress intuition or sensing, and could be said to lead with thinking. 
I would guess he leans more sensing than intuition, and employs intuition in a more than barebones fashion in many crucial junctures likely.

I don't think his observations serve his intuitions so much as they serve his thinking, which also gets augmented by intuitions.


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## Pucca (Jun 13, 2012)

bearotter said:


> I don't think his observations serve his intuitions so much as they serve his thinking, which also gets augmented by intuitions.


I have to agree, which is why I think he's most likely an INTP (Ti-Ne) on the spectrum. He uses Si that he has gathered from his experiments and past experiences, etc., to further build his knowledge base.


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## Satan Claus (Aug 6, 2013)

He's an ENTP (basing off of Robert Downey Jr one), first of all. Second of all, EVERYONE is an S and an N. Letters mean nothing! Forget the letters!


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## Scratch (Feb 2, 2014)

Holmes is an Architect. He's remembered mostly for deductive logic, but the other half of Holmes' genius was stringing unrelated clues together - out of thin air - when deduction alone failed. That suggests a liberating, inner world and pensive eye for pattern. Private consulting allowed him to keep engaged with people on his terms; and he only occasionally received a case that stimulated him.


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## aphinion (Apr 30, 2013)

Detectives always seem to be quite balanced between N and S. I remember a thread a while back where people where having issues deciding if Shawn from Psych was an ENTP or ESTP because of similar reasons (though I think people settled on ENTP). 

Holmes could be a sensor who has taught himself how to make deductions, or an intuit who taught himself how to be observant. Not all of his talents are naturally born.

I personally think he is an ISTP or INTP. My opinion varies depending on the situation, and which Sherlock I am referring to. Everyone plays him differently.


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