Writer’s block

Upper (1974) paper is making the rounds again on an academic social media account that I follow. This has been my giggle for the day and I thought I’d share it. The links go to the corresponding journal article reference.

It all started here…
Upper, D. (1974). The unsuccessful self-treatment of a case of “writer's block”. J Appl Behav Anal. 7, 497.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1311997/?page=1
Reviewer A’s comment is gold.

The cross-cultural replicate (no one asked for):
Didden, R., et al., A multisite cross-cultural replication of Upper’s (1974) unsuccessful self-treatment of writer’s block. J Appl Behav Anal. 40, 773
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2078566/pdf/jaba-40-04-773.pdf
Stay for the editor’s comment

Studies should be repeated to see if similar findings can be reproduced. It’s under a paywall (stupid), but you get the idea.
Artino, A. R. (2016) The unsuccessful treatment of a case of ‘Writer’s Block’: a replication in medical education. Med Edu. 50, 1262.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/medu.13003/abstract

The meta-analysis of the literature on the unsuccessful treatments of ‘Writer’s Block” since more than one person did this! The authors suggest that single papers on the subject are wordier than group papers. In reality, there is one single author paper that has 32 words and the rest of the literature has 0.

McLean, D. C. and Thomas, B. R. (2014) Unsuccessful treatments of “writer’s block”: a meta-analysis. ‎Psychol. Rep. 115, 276.
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.2466/28.PR0.115c12z0

Oh, academics…

BRUC

BRUC – notes

BRUC
The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans
His Last Bow
Words: 10697
Where was Watson living? Baker Street
Pre/Post Reichenbach (May 1891)? Post. 1895

Characters:
Sherlock Holmes
John Watson
Mycroft
Cadogan West
Miss Violet Westbury – fiancée
Mason – plate-layer
Lestrade
Sir James Walter - government expert/scientist, has keys to building with plans, died
Admiral Sinclair
Colonel Valentine Walter - thief
Mr. Sidney Johnson - senior clerk and draughtsman, other guy with keys
Hugo Oberstein
Hugo Oberstein’s valet

Locations:
Baker Street
outside Aldgate Station
Underground
Woolwich
Barclay Square
Woolwich Station
house in the outskirts of the town where Valentine Westbury lived with her mom
Goldini's Restaurant, Gloucester Road, Kensington
Gloucester Road Station
Caulfield Gardens
Charing Cross Hotel

Other crimes/criminals/cases mentioned:
“fifty men who have good reason for taking my life”
Adventure of the Greek Interpreter

Other studies mentioned:
Polyphonic Motets of Lassus – “is said by experts to be the last word upon the subject”

Questions/thoughts about the story
“Brooks or Woodhouse” who?

Mycroft’s cycle - Pall Mall lodgings, the Diogenes Club, Whitehall
- “absolutely and indignantly declined to climb the railings”

“the bimetallic question”?

“plate-layer”?

Aldgate Station – the area near this station looks completely covered. Guessing it wasn’t earlier.

“either fell or was precipitated from a train” what? Precipitate is to fall out of solution or rain.

“two pounds fifteen”?

Woolwich Theatre - http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/WoolwichTheatres.htm

“British government—Woolwich” that connection doesn’t make sense to me.

“most jealously guarded of all government secrets” and yet everyone has heard it.

“a network of points” points?

“fog-girt”?

“curacao”?

The life-preserver is back!

Polyphonic Motets of Lassus – no idea what this is. Look up later.

“lady's august name” phrase meaning?

Other things about Holmes
Keeps references – “cross-indexing his huge book of references”

Hobby - music of the Middle Ages

Bored – “He paced restlessly about our sitting-room in a fever of suppressed energy, biting his nails, tapping the furniture, and chafing against inaction.”

“how long could I survive against my own pursuit? A summons, a bogus appointment, and all would be over.”

It was one of my friend's most obvious weaknesses that he was impatient with less alert intelligences than his own.

mouse-coloured dressing-gown

his power of throwing his brain out of action and switching all his thoughts on to lighter things
emerald tie-pin


Other things about Watson
Tolerant, very tolerant

“I had none of this power of detachment”