One of the tropes of the Sherlock Holmes stories is Holmes’ ability to instantly determine a person’s profession by the clues he gathers in just a moment’s glance as he meets them. TVTropes (no link provided, TVTropes is NSFW for reasons that have nothing to do with boobs) dubs this the ‘Sherlock Scan’. I would suppose it’s a particular version of ‘cold reading’.
In the context of the stories, it makes sense - stains on your sleeve? Ah, well, that’s ink, so you must be a right-handed accountant. It’s just plausible enough, given the conditions of the time.
Of course, these days, I imagine the trick would be a lot harder. So I wanted to pose this question to the SDMB - if you were to meet a Holmesian sleuth, what might he or she be able to determine about your profession in an instant’s interaction? The clues would primarily need to be visual, but olfactory ones could apply as well. And you may assume you have exchanged a simple greeting with the detective, so some auditory components may be relevant - but not a conversation long enough to include professional jargon.
For me, I would imagine my paler skin would suggest an indoor job; my sedentary physique and lack of craft-related calluses or scars would suggest that I work at a desk. Posture might add to that observation as well, and it is a reasonable assumption that most desk jobs these days involve computers. But beyond that - determining that I am a database administrator - is unlikely, I would think.
How about you? Anything distinctive about your job that would show up in a Sherlock Scan?
Well, today I have a checkmark in permanent marker on my forearm that’s a reverse of where I checked the label of a magazine to indicate it was a prior issue and then accidentally put my arm on it. So if he knew how the library works that’s a good one.
Otherwise, I do have keyboard calluses on my hand heelbones and I’m always the palest person in the room, so he knows I don’t spend my days riding the range.
When I first started out, they had a good chance. I’m an engineer, and a few decades ago most engineers were still expected to wear the “engineer’s uniform”, which is dress pants, a dress shirt (usually short sleeved), a tie, but no jacket (Dilbert isn’t a comic - it’s a documentary about engineers). Computers being what they were back then, we always had pencils and calculators in our shirt pocket.
These days, I can get away with wearing jeans and a T-shirt to work. If I emptied my pockets, Holmes would see a memory stick which would be a good clue that I do something technical related to computers. Other than that, my heavy weight and out of shape physique would tell him that I don’t do hard labor for a living, and my pale skin would say I’m inside all the time, but that’s about all he’d get.
It certainly would be much harder today, I think, for a visual ID because so many professions are interchangeable in terms of the environment. Basically, “sitting indoors at a desk in front of a computer” describes a huge segment of the work force - from graphic artists to writers and copy editors to accountants and lawyers all the way to computer programmers - and what is actually done on the computer is not going to leave a physical trace.
Also, dress codes are far more informal than they used to be. In Holmes’ London, he could distinguish someone’s economic status (and hence social class, and hence likely set of professions) based on what they wore and in what condition they were in. For example, Holmes once observed (in A Scandal In Bohemia) that Dr. Watson had gone “back into practice” based on the tell-tale bulge in his hat where he kept his stethoscope! But nowadays, observing a man walking down the street on a workday lunch dressed in khakis and a polo shirt (or button-down sport shirt) and fiddling with a Blackberry doesn’t tell you squat. Unless it was a blue Best Buy polo shirt, perhaps.
Like when Homer Simpson intentionally gained over 60 lbs. to go on medical disability and work from home, and goes clothing shopping at “The Vast Waistband”:
Homer: I’m looking for something loose and billowy, something comfortable for my first day of work. Salesman: Work, huh? Let me guess. Computer programmer, computer magazine columnist, something with computers? Homer: Well, I use a computer. Salesman: [quietly, to self] Yeah, what’s the connection? Must be the non-stop sitting and snacking.
[more audibly] Well, sir, many of our clients find pants confining, so we offer a range of alternatives for the ample gentleman: ponchos, muumuus, capes, jumpsuits, unisheets, muslim body rolls, academic and judicial robes –
** Homer: **I don’t want to look like a weirdo. I’ll just go with a muumuu.
(ETA: I am a computer programmer myself :))
When I’m out in the field I’m dressed like a logger
When I’m in the office I’m dressed in jeans and a button up shirt.
I think it would depend on the day
From my complexion, it would actually be difficult to tell that my job is in front of a computer: I get a fair bit of sun when I hike around as a student. My hair (generally unstyled or in braids), my makeup (a complete lack of it), and my clothes (blue jeans and sneakers and a nice top) indicate correctly that I have a job that does not require me to dress formally; therefore I probably work somewhere in the nerd industry, as most office jobs at least require slacks or khakis during the week. My weight and complexion confirm that my diet is poor and my job is sedentary.
The Blizzard authenticator on my keychain is definitely a nerd giveaway, though I don’t use it anymore.
I actually think equine veterinarian or vet tech would be one of the easier professions to ID. Aroma of barn hints at the species involved, and bloodstains and spare needles/syringes/wrappers in the pockets would hint to a medical person and not just a farm hand. The hands of a vet also tend to be more beat up than the average person but less weathered than someone who spends much of their day doing the more mundane tasks like stall mucking and stacking hay. Some vets wear scrubs and/or coveralls. During breeding season, a vet doing reproductive work may have a line of manure and lube stains down one side from doing rectal exams (unless they have already changed shirt/coveralls). Add in a hat or shirt with a clinic or professional association logo and a hoof knife in the back pocket, and the diagnosis is clinched.
It’s unlikely that anyone would be able to guess my current job, but let’s see if you guys can use these visual clues to determine interesting facts about me:
Gender: Male
Attire: Black sneakers, white socks, blue jeans, black belt, short-sleeve T-shirt (warm day), orange sweatshirt that says “Tigger” on it (cold day), black trench coat (very cold day).
Hair length: Normal amount for a guy (not a mullet, not a shaved head, something in between)
Facial hair: Mild stubble on the chin and mustache zone
Build: 5’10’’, broad-shouldered, somewhat muscular/athletic, but not ridiculously toned
Complexion: Pale
Smells: Axe body spray
Tattoos / Piercings: None
Detail 0: On any given day, my jeans may have black, brown, or purple paint on them or possibly thick black tape.
Detail 1: The outline of a small rectangular object can be seen in each of my front jeans pockets.
Detail 2: Both of my palms have blisters / dead skin just below where the finger connects to the hand.
Detail 3: The tip of my right index finger has callouses / dead skin.
Detail 4: The white part of the nail on my right index finger is significantly larger than the white part on my left index finger – not because it has grown out farther, but because the white part begins much farther down on the nail.
Detail 5: On any given day, I may have bruises/abrasions on my chin or temples
Detail 6: There is a noticeable scar on my left wrist that is about a quarter of an inch long and a sixteenth of an inch thick.
The head injuries seem the most interesting - a job that endangers the skull but doesn’t require protective headgear would be pretty distinctive, I think. (Most helmets or hardhats would protect the temples, at least.) The damage to the hand is interesting too - could be friction (rope burn) or a more traditional burn (electrical wires). The most common rectangular object for a pocket would be a cigarette lighter. The paint and/or tape is interesting, mainly because of the particular colors of paint.
Just based on these things, I would guess that you work in the stagecraft business - lighting, rigging, et cetera - or as some manner of electrician.
Of course, you did hint that these factors weren’t necessarily job related, so there are alternate interpretations, I suppose.
