Holmes is a Mess Part 2

The Family Social Scientist informs me in the comments to the last Holmes post that Doyle's Holmes really is much like Downey's Holmes. I stand corrected. That is what I get for going off of memory.

I was reflecting on the Magistra's comment that Holmes can make plans and follow through on them, they are just ill-considered. Holmes and Watson make a good team because Watson is reliable and saves Holmes when he needs rescuing. Holmes on the other hand, is highly creative and doesn't actually need a plan.

I know from personal experience that this is one of the benefits of having low conscientiousness is that you do not feel concerned when there is not a plan for moving forward. Actually, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference to me whether there is a plan or not, because I am likely to ignore it if there is one.

Don't get me wrong, I think in the grand scheme of things a good plan is very important. I'm likely to complain loudly about businesses that are run poorly or coworkers who have failed to take into account perfectly foreseeable consequences. Success in life and work depends crucially on thinking ahead. This is why conscientiousness is a good predictor of success in life. 

Where my [and Holmes] qualities come into play is when the Stuff Hits the Fan [SHTF], and the carefully prepared plan is now worthless. If you have low conscientiousness, this is no different than normal, so you can proceed apace.

Holmes is a Mess

Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes is a bit of a mess. 221B Baker St. is a complete disaster with him living there. Doyle's Holmes seemed more like a dapper, reserved, proper gentleman, while Downey's Holmes is disagreeable and a bit of a mad scientist.

Pretty much the epitome of low-C high-g highly creative personality. I decided to give this Holmes the Big 5 test to see how he did:

Sherlock Holmes is a O96-C10-E97-A0-N27 Big Five!!

This seems pretty accurate, although you would need to drill down some more to really get at Downey's character. For example, his Holmes has about zero conscientiousness in terms of neatness and personal hygiene, but he can make plans and follow through on them [they are just often ill-considered plans]. The zeroth percentile Agreeableness score is spot on though.