What I Would do if I had Sherlock's Intelligence

Before university, I pretty much never watched television. I read, I spent time with friends, I worked on school stuff, and I worked hard at my hobbies. However, once I got to university, a lot changed. Suddenly, I was in a new city that I knew little about, where I knew next to no one, and where I had to deal with the inevitable added variable of severe depression. In short, I started watching television. On this little television spree, I discovered a beautiful show from the BBC called Sherlock. 

Of course I knew about Sherlock Holmes. I'd seen very old (black and white) television episodes about Sherlock and read a couple of the stories. I also saw the movie with Robert Downey Junior (and hated it, sorry). However, the mystery genre has never really been my thing, and so it took the BBC show to really turn me into a fan of Sherlock Holmes. I always admired Sherlock's intelligence, of course, but what I really love about the BBC show are the characters. They are all so real; they develop over time and they portray very realistic emotions. If anything, I often find that portrayals of Sherlock are a little bit idealistic. They make him out to be so clever and gentlemanly that he doesn't even seem human, and I think that the BBC show does a great job of creating characters that are inherently flawed but nonetheless loveable. If you haven't seen the show before, I would definitely recommend it! It's hard to describe how wonderful it is in a paragraph.

The point of that tangent is that you have to wonder what it would be like to live with a mind like Sherlock's. Can you imagine how distracting it would be to be able to look at anyone and automatically know their life story? I'd feel a little bit like a kid in a candy store; I wouldn't know what to look at first! If I had Sherlock's intelligence, I think this is what I would do:

1. I would try to help people. I'd deduce who was having an awful day and try to make them feel better. I'd buy someone a coffee, for example. Even little things can make someone's day better. 

2. I would avoid people who I deduced were mean or idiotic. I try to avoid judging people before I meet them, but if I could just automatically tell, it may save a bit of time. I don't mean to be shallow about it, but it would be nice. I would never have to risk an abusive relationship, because I'd probably already know enough about a man by looking at him to know whether I'd want a relationship or not. I could also avoid trying to convince people of things when they don't want to listen, and avoid making my day worse by bumping into someone determined to make the world miserable. 

3. I'd go on a show like Jeopardy. Hopefully, I'd know enough about various topics to breeze through and make enough money to live securely for a long time (with enough to spare to give to people who needed it). 

4. I would probably help the police like Sherlock does, since that seems like a very good use for his skills. I imagine seeing murders and murderers and grisly crimes wouldn't help with the depression, but I think I would owe it to the world to use my brains for good. Perhaps I could be a part-time doctor as well. If I were that observant, maybe I'd be able to diagnose people quite accurately as a GP. 

5. No matter how unintelligent I may find others, I would never demean them for it. Sherlock does that in the show and it's hilarious, but in real life it would just be too cruel. Instead, I'd try to share my knowledge. I can understand why he would be frustrated, though, when people can't keep up with him!

6. I would avoid boredom by always working on something constructive. In a brain like that, Sherlock must have some interesting philosophical ideas that would work marvellously in a piece of fiction. I would write a lot, or else work on expanding my knowledge in various areas. I bet I would have a lot of fun with crosswords as well (except for anything related to pop culture). I would also learn to play a bunch of instruments; I feel like that would be an excellent outlet for a genius like Sherlock. Sure, he has his violin (I'm so jealous of that skill), but think of how quickly he could learn others! The oboe, the piano, the flute... 

7. I would travel. I feel like traveling would be ten times as interesting for Sherlock because he would take in so much more. Deducing things in a radically different country would be fascinating. 

Let's face it; being a genius would be awesome! I'd feel morally responsible to work hard all of the time, but at least I'd have a very clear purpose. Anyway, I can dream...

-Laura