I'm back from my break from blogging, but don't think I've been idle!
I've been getting this idea into action for a while and I've finally started writing a book draft. It'll be a background project for the time being but I'm really looking forward to going into topics that might not be usually explored in other books.
It will involve a few deductions I've not revealed before (including the first deduction I ever made to a group of friends) as well how and get into the science behind a lot of deductions that can be made.
For the time being tho I've got a stack of deadlines that are edging closer trying to sneak by so to stop myself not posting at all I've stuck together a mind palace series based on one of the competition entries which you can look forward to until the deadlines have passed.
Till then Happy Deducing, and more importantly, Happy Halloween!!
Appreciation goes to nicotiiine for presenting me with these pictures to deduce. Apologies for taking so long, but University has just started and as fun as this blog is, that really must take priority for now. This is a fairly long post so I hope you've all got your thinking caps on. If anything said here doesn't make sense just send me a message and I'll try to clear it up, but I've tried to make sure I explain it all as I've gone along. As said, this is a very long post, especially for photo deduction posts, so I've put it all under the Keep Reading tab (consider yourself warned).
Heads up tho, I'm still looking for pics to deduce so send 'em in and I'll make time to post them up
The Space is big enough for two people but it's difficult to pick out different tastes, which suggests you have moved in with a long term partner, as people tend to mimic each other the more time people spend together (Chartrand, 1999).
Owning a PS2, PS3, and a PS4 doesn't just point to both of your love of games, but also to how old you are, as the PS2 is a fairly old gaming console, coming out in 2000 (IGN, 2000), suggesting that it was kept not just because you like the games played on it, but also as a reminder of childhood. Having out in the open also provides a conversation starter with any guests that come round, acting as a reminder to fond childhood memories to whoever visits (Petrelli. et al, 2008) .
As for the Harry Potter films, the first book of Harry Potter came out in 1997 and gained popularity with the films first release in 2001 (Rowling. 1997; Heyman. et al, 2001), and therefore will not gain much of an audience from people who were above the target audience range around this time. Given the original target audience would have been young children who are still attending the British primary school, the age range would have been from around five (5) up to nine (9). Given this, the eldest fans en mass would be around 29 (1997-9=1988 2017-1988=29).
Presuming you are in a long term relationship and are living together in this newly decorated place, it is fair to assume for now that you do not belong to the group of younger fans, and taking into consideration that you would still have been in the age bracket (as children/teenagers) for the PS2 when it was released, you most likely fit into the age group of mid to late twenties (~25-29, and as said before, tastes and interests are similar, so the partner is likely to fit into that age group as well for the same reasons.
The three guitars on display (1 acoustic, 1 electric, and 1 bass) go to show musical talent to which the owner is proud of. (As a point of curiosity, I've often found that people who play one instrument have a tendency to play or have played another in the past, if this is the same here may inquire what that is? -TB)
Comparing the Black and white electric guitar on the left of the TV with mine, I'd measure it at ~40 Inches (As my guitar is a measured 37 inches with a head that has string tuners on both sides, as opposed to just one, which means the one in the picture must occupy more space), On my computer screen, the guitar measures 2.5 Inches.
~40 Inches / 2.5 Inches = a multiplying factor of ~16.
Given that people tend to write on walls just below eye level (Ruder. et al 2011), it would make theoretical sense for people who are unaware of the concept of "gallery height" to hang pictures in order for the middle of the frame to be just below eye level. There's a margin of error due to the variance of heights these pictures are hung, so the measurement on screen (in inches again) from the floor up are 4.25 and 4.5
4.25* 16= 68 while 4.5*16= 72
Convert into feet then at least one of you is between around 5'6'' feet and 6' feet tall
Talking about the pictures, those on the walls and upon the tables each have a different location written upon them, and each a fairly well known landmark in America. This could lead to a few conclusions; either the owner could either wish to travel to these destinations, have already travelled to them all, or just appreciate their artistic style. I'd say it's most likely a mixture of the first and third, in idle thought they would like to visit these places at least once, if not visited some already, and decided on these posters due to their artistic value. The lack of visible hiking gear or any other sports equipment make an argument that the people living here aren't particularly sporty or traveling people, but it may be that this equipment just happens to be out of frame.
From pictures and onto the furniture. Given the design and bright blue colour of the table, fitting in with traditional themes, it would fit into the target audience of creative females (Porta. 2010) who are quite clean by nature (glass gets so many smears and from experience tends to need delicate cleaning -TB), along with the pale colour of the patterned colours of the coasters, suggesting that each of these were picked by the female within the relationship (or that this is just her place and the male partner has recently moved in).
The table contains ribbon that I can only think to be used when decorating cakes. On the table there is also a pamphlet for "Créme de la [....]" with a cake picture, on top of an Employee Manual, so it's safe to assume that as everything is neat and tidy, these two things belong together, meaning one of you most likely works here. it's fair to assume you're living within at least driving distance of this shop. The table also contains black ribbon with a skull pattern on it, leading me to believe that the cake decorations are being prepared for Halloween
One thing that I was unsure about was the bowl with bits of paper inside. I've seen them used for a variety of things; jobs that need doing; compliments for when people are feeling down etc. So it was hard for me to come to any definite conclusion without being able to read them.
In Summary:
This place belongs to someone who is in a long term relationship and is in their mid-twenties between five and a half to six feet tall. They are sentimental towards their childhood, having their old consoles and pictures on display. Musical talent with guitar is on open display and is something they are proud of. They have an aspiration to travel but are not overly sporty/travelling people. The Female occupier of the housing is a decorator of cakes who works in a relatively nearby cake shop and has been getting cakes ready for Halloween at the time this picture was taken.
-TB
I would very much appreciate feedback, so feel free to point out everything I got wrong or right, as this will help me improve next time.
(This post was supposed to come out last weekend but Uni life had to take priority for this one, so I haven't covered nearly everything in these photos but I've tried to take the important things and expand on them a little. In an ideal world I'd also point to the Mickey mouse that has sentimental value, and I didn't get to touch what was on the fireplace, or point out the record player and Vinyls. Hopefully I'll be better at time management for the next one)
[In hind sight, being able to deduce that at least one person is average height might not be as impressive as I hoped it would be, but hopefully the mathematics can work as a basis for others with their deductions of people]
Chartrand, T. L.; Bargh, J. A. (1999); The Chameleon Effect: the Perception-Behavior link and Social Interaction; journal of personality and social psychology, 76, 893–910.
Heyman D. (Producer), Columbus C. (Director). (2001) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone [Motion Picture]. United Kingdom. Warner Bros.
IGN (2000), 'Sony Pulls in Over $250 Million at Launch' [online] Available from: http://uk.ign.com/articles/2000/11/07/sony-pulls-in-over-250-million-at-launch (Accessed 09/10/2017)
Petrelli D., Brockmeier J., Whittaker S., (2008); AutoTopography: What Can Physical Mementos Tell us about Digital Memories?; CHI 2008. CHI 2008, 5-10 April 2008, Florence (Italy).
Porta M., (2010) How to Define your Target Market [Online] Available from: https://www.inc.com/guides/2010/06/defining-your-target-market.html (Accessed 18/10/2017)
Rowling J.K., (1997) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, London, Bloomsbury Publishing
Ruder T.D., Thali Y., Bucher M., Cottier A., Thali M.J., Hatch G.M., (2011) The Writing's on the wall for Sherlock, BMJ 2011;343:d7406
I've updated the look of my blog for mobile devices cos it was looking a bit bland, tho I'm having difficulty in choosing a colour for the background so any suggestions are welcome -TB
This picture was uploaded with the title "[Mine] I resisted the urge to adjust anything before taking a photo. What can you figure out from this corner of my room?" to the subreddit r/scienceofdeduction. With permission from the uploader, u/GoblinGuts, I can show you guys the pic, what was deduced and what the replies were.
First off, the deductions;
My wording here is less concise than I'd like, but the general deductions are still shown. Cards Against Humanity is a popular cars game among student's any age, not just university, but playing cards are a standard thing for university students to be given, allowing social groups to form within accommodations. Having any food on your bookshelf suggests an unwillingness to let other people use it without permission, also a classic university trait (I once had an entire bag of tortilla wraps eaten over night). The heavy duty curtains are durable and so don't get replaced often, mixed with the paonted over brick wall, it's clear no one stays in this accommodation on a permanent basis leading to an on-campus student, which would mean a certain age bracket. As far as im aware Channel Four is a UK only channel, and the programme Black Books is a British comedy made in the early 2000s, while Paddington Bear is a well known British icon. As will be seen later the comment on the Swedish bear was not entirely accurate, but more on that later...
Looking on the bookshelf, the "Vegetarian Nosh for Students" is a give away on being vegetarian, while the 5th edition of "The Media Student's Book" is an equal give away on what kind of course she's on. University courses have a tendency to be more specific on topics of study however so it was important to look elsewhere in order to determine an exact nature of the course. There is a camera on the top shelf, suggesting the possibility of photography, but the extent that she'd have to reach each time to use it makes it an unideal place for something used frequently. Given this and the displayable positioning of "My Favourite Photos," photography is likely a hobby now more than a pursuit, perhaps keeping it in case of chances for memorable pics to be taken at hand. This shelf also presents books on cinematography, however these books are rarely looked at due to the positioning under the photo album. The second shelf shows a collection of films, some better known than others. The films such as Fight Club, Donnie Darko and La La Land are known for unique storytelling and cinematography, suggesting that an interest in different styles is present rather than a specific style (e.g I tend to like the directing style of Edgar Wright; The Cornetto trilogy, Scott Pilgrim, Baby Driver etc). The interest in different styles along with being a media student leads to the thought of the course focusing on cinematography.
Books such as the Harry Potter series, My Sister Jodie by Jaqueline Wilson, and Beauty Queens by Libba Bray are all feel-good comfort classics, however a collection of nick-nacks and bit-and-bob in front of them suggest they've not been picked up and read in a while, likely due to time constraints with coursework and responsibilities.
And now for the reply;
The bear, while being sentimental due to its positioning, wasn't quite there for the reason I had thought, and despite being told the person takes medication, I'm not going to count it as accurate purely because I hadn't seen any other evidence for it.
All in all not too bad imo, and special thanks to u/GoblinGuts for giving me permission to share this with you all!
So the bag I thought was from a pharmacy turned out to be a bag of sugar. Not quite the same thing but hey, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.
Winter season, winter theme! I'm on my last piece of coursework for the semester so don't fret, a winter book list is on its way! (The mind palaces will be used for gaps where I can't post so expect one around January/February and then throughout exam season in May through to June/July).
For anyone who's interested, the new pic is of chromatin fibrils using a light microscope (I don't remember the magnification, the pic was taken a good three years back, sorry).
Happy Holidays and Happy Deducing!
-TB
(P.S. should I put Diogenes in a Christmas hat this season?)
