Gandalf vs. Holmes
by johnjosephadams on Dec.08, 2009, under John Joseph Adams
It’s elementary, my dear Morgan: it’s Holmes, of course.
Holmes is not only very knowledgeable about a great many things (though to be fair, he doesn’t know everything, as he likes to keep his “mental attic” clear of clutter), but he has the great ability–perhaps the greatest ability of any real or fictional person–to deduce and figure out things. Also, he shows that he possesses a keen intuition, and rarely finds himself in situations in which he is not in control. And although Holmes is proficient in the martial art of bartitsu, we basically never see him use it in any of his adventures, because he doesn’t need to beat anyone up–he can just outsmart them. And finally, he’s so damn smart that when there’s nothing going on, he needs drugs just to keep his mind occupied lest he go mad with boredom.
While Gandalf must have done a lot of studying to become the great wizard that he is, and according to Dungeons & Dragons, intelligence is the primary attribute of a wizard, we can really only assume he’s smart because he can do magic, because he doesn’t really demonstrate his intelligence much in Lord of the Rings. Now, I’m not saying he’s dumb or anything, but he entrusts the Ring of Doom to a hobbit. Keep in mind, of course, that Frodo is not a bad-ass warrior hobbit or anything, he’s just some guy Gandalf knows. Yes, Frodo is related to Bilbo, who did some amazing things (especially for a hobbit), but what did Frodo ever do to show that he could handle such a monumentally important task? This is not a great selection process. You know, I think Barack Obama is pretty swell and mighty competent, but that doesn’t mean it would be a good idea to entrust his nephew with nuclear access codes.
Besides, using magic is cheating. And it completely skews whatever comparisons we can make, since we can’t know how much of Gandalf that we see is just him displaying his own natural abilities and how much of it is influenced or altered by magic.
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December 8th, 2009 on 11:38 am
I think I agree with you. I also would pick Holmes because Gandalf knows a lot but is really bad about telling people about it. He keeps Frodo in the dark about a lot of what’s really going on, withholding information that could have helped him. Holmes, IMO, would have broken that all down very clearly. Additionally, Gandalf needed a lot of help to figure out the backstory of the ring. Holmes probably would have taken some soil samples and checked some foot impressions and figured the whole thing out. Plus it rubs me the wrong way that Gandalf is not a human being and part of his knowledge seems inherent. Holmes worked to develop his mind.
Now who’s going to start writing the Holmes in Middle Earth fanfic?
December 8th, 2009 on 12:46 pm
As Rajan said, Gandalf is not human: he’s a Maiar (basically, a low-ranking angel); and his knowledge and magic are inherent characteristics–he hasn’t worked to gain either.
December 8th, 2009 on 2:42 pm
While you make a mostly excellent case, I have to disagree with your point about Gandalf’s decision to entrust the Ring to Frodo. Frodo is not a bad-ass warrior hobbit, but that’s the whole point. A bad-ass warrior hobbit couldn’t have handled the Ring and Gandalf knows that. The bearer of the Ring has to be someone without ambition, otherwise he/she wouldn’t be able to withstand its power - look at what happened to bad-ass warrior Boromir, afterall. Boromir succumbed because he had ambition and drive and that made him vulnerable to the Ring’s power. Gandalf knows that Frodo is a safe choice because Frodo offers to give up the Ring. Therefore, Gandalf makes a wise and correct decision in entrusting the Ring to Frodo.
That being said, I’m still siding with Holmes in this debate.
December 8th, 2009 on 4:08 pm
Not to mention the shrewd decision to send Sam with Frodo (since Frodo, you know, failed), another ambitious-less hobbit dude who never really had any designs on power. And not killing Gollum.
I dunno, I think gandalf is a pretty wise dude, and I never thought the whiners who complained about not flying the ring to mordor on an eagle had arguments that held much water.
Anyway, Sherlock Holmes is pretty ace, and I’d give him the edge because going against a celestial being isn’t fair.
December 8th, 2009 on 9:20 pm
Gandalf really should have suggested they use the giant eagles to take The Ring to Mordor. Had he done that, his intelligence wouldn’t be in question.
December 8th, 2009 on 11:26 pm
Heresy! Of course Gandalf is smarter! However, I think the comparison isn’t very straightforward because Gandalf and Holmes excel in completely different spheres of intelligence. Holmes, as you say, is a master of deduction. Gandalf, on the other hand, is a master of the human heart. He knows who can be trusted, what they are capable of, and what they will do. Even more important, he’s a master ethicist. He always knows what’s RIGHT. I think he’s got a better intuition than Holmes by far. While Holmes may best Gandalf in logic games, he’ll lose the overall battle.
December 9th, 2009 on 4:55 am
Gandalf was sent to Middle-Earth to be an emissary and a guide from the Powers of Arda, not to take an active hand in the actions of the People of Middle-Earth. So we dont have a true representation of his full skill and intelligence, but what we do see hints that it is much greater than what is put into the story.
Holmes might be better when he loses his British accent and becomes diagnostician in New Jersey.
December 9th, 2009 on 8:57 am
Trusting the Ring to Frodo was a stroke of genius, though more akin to great military strategy than detective work. Who would have suspected that this tiny insignificant Hobbit was a threat to the mighty Dark Lord himself?
Holmes is the better thinker. Gandalf is the decisive one. Holmes might be the one you want advising you before a battle, but Gandalf would lead it.
December 9th, 2009 on 5:33 pm
Apples and oranges.
Gandalf is intelligent. Sherlock Holmes is intelligent. But what they exhibit in their various realms are two entirely different things. Sherlock Holmes is clever and rational, skilled in logic. Gandalf is wise and compassionate with inherent compassion.
Actually, when it comes to modus operandi, Holmes is more akin to Saruman– he relies on the evidence of his own senses, and tries to apply common reason to the situation. We see in Saruman how that approach works in Middle-earth.
Gandalf’s approach is intuitive, based on his foresight and his feelings more than mere logic. In our world, he’d be lost. His approach of trusting to things to work out for the best would certainly not work against someone like Moriarty. But it is the perfect approach in M-e, where faith, mercy and compassion are rewarded in spite of the odds.