1 Don’t just see; observe.

2 It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all

the evidence.
3 It is of the first importance not to allow your judgement
to be biased by personal qualities. The emotional
qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning.
4 When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever
remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
5 Detective work is an infinite capacity for taking pains.
6 There is no branch of detective science which is so
important and so much neglected as the art of tracing
footsteps.
7 Never guess. It is a shocking habit — destructive to the
logical faculty.
8 Never make exceptions. An exception disproves the
rule.
9 Singularity is almost invariably a clue. The more
featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more
difficult it is to bring it home.
10 There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.
11 The little things are infinitely the most important.
12 We balance probabilities and choose the most likely. It
is the scientific use of the imagination.
13 One should always look for a possible alternative, and
provide against it.
14 Nothing clears up a case so much as stating it to
another person.