1SELLING WHAT YOU CAN’T SEE

In Arthur Conan Doyle’s immortal Sherlock Holmes story “The Adventure of Silver Blaze,” there occurs the following dialogue between Holmes and the none-too-bright local inspector of police who has been called in to solve the crime of a kidnapped racehorse.

The inspector says, “Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?”

Holmes responds, “To the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime.”

“The dog did nothing in the nighttime.”

“That was the curious incident,” remarked Sherlock Holmes. It’s one of the most famous exchanges in the whole Sherlock Holmes canon, and one that’s stayed with me since I read it more than 50 years ago. It’s like trying to put your foot onto a stair and realizing ...

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