To go forwards, sometimes you need to think backwards

This article uses the example of analytical methods used by fictional character Sherlock Holmes to explain why big data requires creativity to be successfully applied.

To go forwards, sometimes you need to think backwards

Rory SutherlandOgilvy

Good detective work is a highly creative process and requires a different way of thinking.

"It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has adequate data"

– Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Scandal in Bohemia.

I still reread the Sherlock Holmes corpus every year or so. You would assume that any detective fiction would lose its appeal once you know whodunnit. These stories are rather different, however: for amateur detectives (and professional marketers) they are a useful lesson in how to think.

The genius of Sherlock...

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