Sherlock Holmes and Futures Literacy – A Fictitious Detective Meets Tomorrow

Sherlock Holmes is one of literature’s most enduring fictional characters. The detective of Baker Street, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 19th century, is celebrated for his powers of observation, deduction, and reasoning. But what happens if we look at Holmes not only as a master of solving crimes in the present, but also as a symbol for futures literacy—the ability to imagine, question, and use the future to better understand today? 

Holmes as a foresight practitioner 

Holmes was never simply reactive. He trained himself to notice weak signals—tiny details that others dismissed—that pointed toward deeper patterns. Futures literacy asks the same of us: to treat faint hints of change not as noise, but as clues about what might emerge. Holmes’s skill at connecting seemingly unrelated fragments mirrors the foresight practice of scanning signals and weaving them into scenarios. 

Questioning assumptions 

One of Holmes’s famous lines was, “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.” Futures literacy could add: it is a mistake to accept only one image of the future before exploring alternatives. Holmes was relentless about challenging assumptions, pushing beyond surface appearances to uncover what others overlooked. Futures literacy is similar—it trains us to peel back the layers of the present to reveal the hidden stories shaping tomorrow. 

Imagination as method 

Though known for cold logic, Holmes often relied on imagination. He staged experiments, played the violin to think creatively, and even used disguises to see the world through different lenses. Futures literacy depends on the same imaginative flexibility: stepping into “what if” worlds to explore consequences and possibilities. Holmes reminds us that logic alone cannot solve mysteries of the future—imagination must work alongside deduction. 

Futures literacy in detective mode 

Imagine Holmes transported into our century, facing mysteries not of stolen jewels or hidden identities, but of climate change, artificial intelligence, or shifting democracies. His toolkit would expand from magnifying glasses to scenario maps, foresight workshops, and futures laboratories. He would treat the unknown not as chaos but as a puzzle, using uncertainty as a clue rather than a threat. 

The lesson for us 

The enduring appeal of Sherlock Holmes lies in his ability to make sense of the seemingly incomprehensible. Futures literacy asks us to do the same—not with crime scenes, but with the uncertainties of life, work, and society. Like Holmes, we are called to sharpen our observation, question our assumptions, and imagine boldly. Sherlock Holmes may be a fictitious detective, but his methods resonate with the real skill of futures literacy. Both require curiosity, discipline, and imagination. And just as Holmes reminded Watson that “the world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes,” futures literacy reminds us that the future is full of possibilities that no one notices—until we learn to look.