Deduction #7

Another College Student!

This one was fun. Right off the bat, we have a female subject. Evidently she is quite the bookworm based on the stack of Young Adult novels on the right side of the desk. Next we have her name, Annie, which is written on several of the pieces of paper on the bulletin board running the length of the desk. We could talk about her affinity for horses, or the fact that she seems to be a Vikings fan, or the operating system of her computer (Windows 7 I think), but I think I've found something more interesting. A closer inspection of the lanyards hanging just behind the lamp reveal the logo of UST, a Catholic College in St. Paul, Minnesota. That by itself is not a ton to go on. However, once we add the brand-new student ID (still in sleeve) and what appears to be a welcome packet on the desk, I feel quite safe in assuming that you are an incoming Freshman at the school.

Now that we know a little about the who, let's talk about where. Given previous information, we should answer the question of whether this picture was taken in a dorm room. I'm confident it was not. The layout of the room (lamp reflection) suggest single-occupant bedroom. Not only that, but this picture was sent to me about a month ago, a full 10 days before you could have moved in. Based on a few quick statistics from UST's website, I conclude that you most likely are staying in a dorm the first year.

Now for the fun part. The picture was taken with an Apple Device (Ipad) which, as we know from previous deductions, has a nasty habit of encoding GPS data into its pictures. Without going into too much detail, I was able to get a pretty good lock on your location at the time the picture was taken. This type of information would allow someone to, oh I don't know, find the Facebook page for the incoming freshman class of UST, search for the name "Annie," and narrow the search by hometown. Upon doing that, one would discover that you ARE in fact staying in a dorm (the exact one will not be mentioned), and that you were at one point engaged in the process of searching for a flatmate in true Sherlockian fashion. If the cup in your room (reflection in picture frame) is any indication, you must be quite happy about the number and proximity of Arby's at your new location in the dorms.

Happy sleuthing!

Deduction #5

New deduction practice! This time, I’m going to turn it over to you. In the comments section, post your conclusions AND the observations that led you there. You must defend your choices. Deduce as much as you can about this person (I’ll jump in if necessary). Good luck!

Better quality version of this picture available here.

Deduction #4

This deduction marks an important milestone for this blog.

I learned quite a few things from this picture. Most of them were not facts about the owner of the bookshelf, but creative ways of finding information and, more importantly, confirming it.

For starters, I am a huge Dan Brown fan. In fact, I own all of his novels. The thing is, I didn't recognize the ones on your shelf - at least I didn't at first. That's not the American cover art. Based on that, and the AA driving manual/practice book, I feel same in assuming that you are the first non-American to submit a picture to my blog, and for that I am immensely grateful. Add the interesting fact that the picture arrived on the submission page approximately 7 hours after it was taken (time zone difference), and I deduce that you live in the UK (the Doctor Who books helped too).

Next, let's narrow down physically who you are. I'm operating under the assumption that you are male based on your interest in role-playing games (bottom shelf on the left), your music (metal, if I'm not mistaken), and your ownership of lighter fluid and accessories for a bee-bee gun. That being said, you could also be a statistically uncommon female, but the balance of probability says otherwise. You are almost certainly Caucasian (30 SPF sunblock in the UK), and you are a swimmer( although whether it's for a club, your school, etc. - I cannot be sure).

Based on your literary interests and the books referencing eating on a budget, student cooking, etc., I'm placing your age somewhere in the university range. It's likely that you live in a small apartment/flat (terminology is fun) for two reasons: The first is that, while I am unfamiliar with dorm living over there, I would assume that bringing your own bookshelf is hard to do. The second is your bike pump. There are many places where a person with a lot of space to work with could keep a bike pump - the top of a bookshelf doesn't seem like one of them.

You are interested in computers (potentially a university major), puzzle solving, and different methods of thinking (explaining your participation in the blog). You enjoy mysteries, and figuring things out firsthand. 

Finally, I have some questions. Are you a magician? That seems to be a lot of decks of cards, even for someone who plays table-games. What in the world is that green slime-looking stuff in the small bucket?

Thanks for submitting! I await your response!

Deduction #3

We're getting a two-for-one today, children.

Okay, step one - how do we know these pictures were taken by the same person? Well, a fun little computer trick tells us that these pictures were not only taken within the same 3 minutes of each other, but by the same model phone (Samsung Galaxy, and if I'm not mistaken, the AT&T version).

Step two - let's take a look at this bookshelf. Almost all of the books are about psychology in some shape or form, but let's go a bit further. Too many books for a hobby, or even a college major. This is a career. This person does psychology for a living - most likely a psychotherapist specializing in attachment based on the really official-looking books near the bottom of the shelf. Moreover, this person is interested in getting multiple perspectives on the mind from a wide variety of sources. Many of the books on the upper part of the shelf were written by philosophers of the mind, investigating everything from how the brain processes time to self-awareness and mindfulness. Our subject is not unwilling to go to the eastern hemisphere for another perspective, bringing a nice balance to their field of study - ironic, considering the symbolic significance of the statue of the Nataraja (Shiva in the form of the Cosmic Dancer) on the upper left part of the shelf. Do you meditate? The above details would suggest feelings that the current view of psychology is very incomplete, and also a level of curiosity not bounded by conventional thought patterns. We have a thinker in our midst, ladies and gentlemen.

Okay, so now we know what this person does for a living, and a little bit about their feelings on their field of study. Now onto...

Step three - The living room. Right off the bat, I think our subject has a dog based on the couch cover and the large wall-mounted picture. They are also remarkably aware of world-culture for the typical American (If you're not sure how we know the subject is in America, check their wall socket.). Over on the mantle, we see a few artifacts including what appears to be a bronze Buddha. She (for I think the subject is female based on the patterned couch pillows) may likely be shorter than average, as all of the tables, even the running table on the wall are what I, at 5'11'', would consider fairly low. We also see that the books from earlier aren't just for show - there are lamps everywhere. She reads a lot, and she reads for fun. Finally, I'd say the house was built circa the 1980's, judging by the painted brick fireplace.

Parting questions - What sort of work were you doing on the wall? Did you paint the picture? How about the light switch hidden amongst your many books?

Deduction #2

Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado...

The green box catches my attention first - computer parts - computer savvy. That's along with the multiple World of Warcraft and Halo books says that you are a gamer (and most likely male). You won multiple awards in high school, which by the way was Claudia Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson High in San Antonio, Texas, where you were in the JROTC program (and probably still are through your college, which is probably U of A, but I'm not positive). You enjoy manga and sci-fi, are/were enrolled in what could be considered an "upper-level" math class (your TI-83 manual), and you performed above average on the SAT's (You have the test-prep book, AND you kept it, meaning it was either useful or valuable to you.) You are used to wearing nice clothes based on the hanger hanging on your closet door (further evidence for the college ROTC theory). You used your phone to take this picture, and you are most likely a customer of AT&T, or at least were at the time this picture was taken, which if I'm not mistaken was August 2013.

My only real question to you is: "Why do you own a gavel?"

As with before, if this is your picture, be sure to comment and let me know how accurate these were. It really helps!

And so it begins...

Since I'm not exactly sure of the format I'd like to use, I'm going to just kind of free write and see where it goes.

Okay, here we go. *Cracks knuckles*

The first thing I noticed was the tissues. Sadly, that's the item that gave me the least information. Moving clockwise, we get to the remote, suggesting you have a television in the room, probably either to the right or directly behind where the picture was taken based on the placement of the bed. Moving farther counterclockwise takes us to the black CFL light bulb, which begs the question, "Where is your blacklight"?

But we're just getting warmed up. You took quite a while to upload this picture based on the fact that your watch says 3:55, and coupling this with the wallet, we can determine that you are most likely male. You also most likely live East of the U of A campus based on what appears to be a Good Egg coupon to the far right of the table (or perhaps you just really like their food). You are, as your CatCard would suggest, a student at the University of Arizona, but are most likely in your third or fourth year (that style was not available to students starting in the 2013 school year, which would mean you are at least a junior). Now back to the dance shoes. It's a moderately priced brand. You probably got them for 20-30 dollars, suggesting that you are new to the art. Combine that with the information from the CatCard (and a little digging on UAccess) and I arrive at the conclusion that you are most likely enrolled in either Dance 144A or 144B at the U.

Oh, but wait, there's more. Your phone is conspicuously absent from the picture (not plugged into the charger on the ground) suggesting that you may have used it to take the picture. But I think I know better. I think the phone was in your pocket at the time, and that you used an actual camera to take the photo based on the resolution. On a hunch, I would hazard a guess that you used a Cannon Powershot SX280HS.

Finally, I would like to know if you have a CD player in your room, because it seems odd that you would be transporting that ripped Keith Urban album back and forth from there to your car. Also, are you going to Country Thunder?

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Hope you enjoyed the first of many deduction sessions. Feel free to comment with any other observations that I may have missed, or questions about the thought process involved. And don't forget, if this is your picture, be sure to let me know how I did!