Conned Again Watson!: Cautionary Tales In Logic, Math, And Probability

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Mathematical Connections In Colin Bruce's Book, Conned Again Watson!: Cautionary Tales In Logic, Math, And Probability

As the title suggest, Conned Again, Watson! Cautionary Tales of

Logic, Math, and Probability, by Colin Bruce (Perseus Publishing, 2002), is

a collection of mathematical tales set in the form of Sherlock Holmes

adventures. Each of the stories has a mathematical connection and several

touch on issues related to the theme of this chapter (particularly relevant are

“The Case of the Gambling Nobleman” and The Case of the Surprise Heir,”

but several others deal with probability topics as well).


The story that I choose to read was “The Case of the Surprise Heir”.

This just like the other stories are set in the tone of a Sherlock Holmes novel.

With Holmes and his faithful friend Watson analyzing different cases of a

mathematical nature that have been brought to them by various people

around London. The time period the story is set in is revealed in the

beginning of the story. Sherlock Holmes happens to picks up a British

newspaper and in commenting on the masthead reveals that the year is that

1900. The story begins with Sherlock Holmes and Watson discussing an

article in the newspaper. They quickly get into an intellectual conversation,

that arouse from Holmes’ comment about the paper. There is an article about

the fall of the Roman Empire and it states how someday the British Empire

could experience a similar type of fate. Holmes finds the article ridiculous

and rips into the author of the paper for making such an implication. Holmes

then tells Watson that he will be retiring to bed for the evening. After no

more than a few moments of Holmes being upstairs there is a knock at the

door. Watson answers only to find an old cockney-like women looking quite

distraught. She asks to see Mr. Holmes and Watson informs her tha...