Alfonso 1 Michelle Coleen S. Alfonso Dr.

Lynda Haas Writing 37 20 February 2014 A Medical Sherlock Holmes Mystery is a genre of fiction where the plot revolves around a mysterious happening that acts as the driving question (TVTropes). According to Routman, mysteries are imaginative stories dealing with the solution of a secret, problem, or crime, and involving suspense or intrigue. Some of the genre conventions in a mystery/detective story includes gathering of clues, a sidekick, a detective figure, the pursuit of science vs. supernatural and the use of deductive reasoning. Clues move the plot forward by giving the main character substantial information about who could have possibly done the crime, a sidekick who normally helps the main character and allows normal folks to view the world in a different way, a detective figure who is the most important character in a story as he solves the crime in the end with his scientific explanation and the idea of science vs. supernatural especially during the Victorian Era where most people strongly believes in the supernatural which includes ghosts, calling the dead spirits and so much more. One important convention that stands out the best in most of Arthur Conan Doyles stories and in fact, are still being used today in modern-day adaptations of Sherlock Holmes is the use of deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is a basic form of valid reasoning. Deductive reasoning, or deduction, starts out with a general statement, or hypothesis, and examines the possibilities to reach a specific, logical conclusion. The scientific method uses deduction to test hypotheses and theories (Live Science). Deductive reasoning is still generally being portrayed by many of the modern-day adaptation shows we have today. The TV show

Alfonso 2 Psych depicts the use of deduction as Shawn Spencer uses his eye for detail, outside-the-box thinking, and throw-caution-to-the-wind-to-follow-a-hunch attitude make him excellent at following and solving cases (Psych Wiki). Another modern adaptation of Holmess deductive reasoning skill is shown in the TV show Elementary where a crime-solving duo cracks the New York Police Departments most impossible cases (Elementary Wiki). Bringing intrigue and mystery in the form of unusual medical cases, House M.D. conveys a great mystery genre convention through Dr. Gregory Houses brilliant deduction as he solves all the cases brought to him and makes the impossible to others possible to him. It is a critically-acclaimed American medical drama series by David Shore which debuted on November 16, 2004 on Fox Network and has a total of eight seasons that are still being broadcasted today. House M.D. characterizes a controversial, drug addict, but medical genius doctor who can deduce and diagnose a person just by looking at them. House M.D. is a modern-day revision of Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes stories, updating genre conventions for its 21st century audience; in particular, the convention of Houses methods of diagnosis is an update of Conan Doyles use of deductive reasoning, with specific revisions such as Houses way of approach to his cases and guesses most of the time while Holmes hated guessing and talked about not theorizing before having all the data. The eighteenth episode of the third season of House M.D. is entitled Air Borne starts with Dr. House and Lisa Cuddy in an airport gate who are travelling back to New York from a pandemic symposium in Singapore. As House is being served dinner, he notices a Korean man near him who is moaning and sweating furiously. Few moments after, the man regurgitates pink liquid and appears to be in a worse situation. Cuddy thinks that the man may likely have meningococcus which is a highly contagious form of bacterial meningitis that can be easily passed from one person to another but House is pretty sure that it is not what she thinks it is as he

Alfonso 3 is already deducing the possible causes at the back of his mind. Soon, other passengers starts exhibiting the same symptoms the man has and causes mass agitation. House lists the possible causes including organophosphate poisoning, jet lag, a Dramamine overdose, a DVT (deep venous thrombosis a blood clot in the leg) and food poisoning (Polite Dissent). From there, he begins to cross out the causes that are most likely not the reason of this phenomena and ends up with a conclusion that only the Korean man is really sick and is suffering from decompression sickness due to his scuba diving trip the day before the plane flight while the other passengers are just exhibiting psychological response which is also known as mass hysteria. In here, House uses the process of deduction by starting from a general premise and ending up with a specific conclusion. Most episodes revolve around a primary patient and its search for diagnosis which starts with the pre-credits scene that shows prior events leading to the appearance of the patients symptoms. House uses a method called differential diagnosis which includes listing possible etiologies on a whiteboard then eliminating most of them, usually because one of the team provides logical reasons for ruling them out (House Wiki). The show is often filmed using the walk and talk filming technique that draws the viewer into a closer, more intense relationship of the audience to the actors and creates urgency and intensity at the same time. In this specific episode, House and Cuddy discusses the possible causes of this phenomena as they are checking up on other passengers which shows that they do not have enough time to just sit there and think through it that adds to the tension of the situation. An important focus in this episode is the appearance of several symptoms of the passengers from time to time on the plane that complicates Houses attempt even more to finalize a diagnosis. Before coming up into a conclusion of what might have caused it, another symptom shows up and totally changes the

Alfonso 4 perceived conclusion House originally has. With the use of his keen observation, trial and error testing, experimenting and the process of elimination, he moves on to the method called differential diagnosis where he makes a lists of all the symptoms exhibited by the passengers and begins to connect one point to another while applying his knowledge about their medical nature and from there, eliminates the impossible causes provided with a medically proven explanation and finally arrives to a conclusion. In Sir Arthur Conan Doyles novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Holmes reveals his extraordinary analytical mind as he observes and deduces information from the letter received by Sir Henry Baskerville the moment he arrived in London. He uses his keen observation, creative imagination, knowledge and sensitivity to details as he tries to find out who the writer of the letter could have been. Deductive reasoning is used throughout his investigation as he observes the physical aspects of the letter such as the handwriting, postmark, and even the type of paper used; uses his knowledge that only people of the higher class reads that kind of newspaper, that the pen used is actually a complimentary hotel pen because of its poor ink quality with the idea that higher class people never uses poor quality pens but instead uses those fine and expensive ones. From there, Holmes deduces that the writer of the letter is in fact from a higher class but is actually trying to disguise his/her identity by using such methods. The same idea of deductive reasoning is being portrayed in the Fox TV show House M.D. as he first observes the symptoms manifested by the patients, apply his medical knowledge and by the use of the process of elimination, concludes with a medically supported diagnosis. Although Holmes and House have a lot of things in common, revisions of the genre convention of deductive reasoning are made in order to appeal to a modern-day audience. While House is a doctor, Holmes started off wanting to be a doctor after being influenced by his professor named Joseph Bell but eventually became a

Alfonso 5 detective. Some aspects of Holmes changes as it transitions to his modern day counterpart Dr. House such that of his sense of humor as there are many comical parts of the show constantly being portrayed throughout the series centering around Houses personality quirks and insults that brings comic relief to a serious medical drama. Through this, modern-day audiences do not easily get bored by just watching a doctor solving different diseases but instead gives a twist to the character where the show basically revolves around. In order to adapt to a modern-day audience, directors and producers of such shows has to make changes that will attract more viewers and this could be done by changing some of the characters personalities, the way they act, the usage of language, and even filming techniques. The idea of using a genius doctor is very appealing to everyone since most of us would want to be on top of our game just like him, as he serves as a role model for us and an example that we draw from to be better.

Alfonso 6 Works Cited "Exploring The Mystery Genre." Scholastic Teachers. Scholastic, 2014. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. Higher Read LLC. N.p.: n.p., n.d. The Hound of the Baskervilles Read It and Know It Edition. Higher Read LLC. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. "Mystery Fiction." RSS. TVTropes, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. "Polite Dissent." House Episode 18 (Season Three): Airborne. N.p., 10 Apr. 2007. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. Routman, Regie. "Genre Characteristics." Writing Essentials. N.p., 2005. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. Staff, By LiveScience. "Deductive Reasoning vs. Inductive Reasoning." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 10 July 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. "Wikia." Elementary Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. "Wikia." Psych Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.