Introduction to Logic, 22nd March, 2012.

The Logic of Nero Wolfe

Simon Ellis

Outline

1. Introduction

2. The ‘world’ of Nero Wolfe

3. Examples of Wolfe’s logic

4. Extra credit problem

5. Questions

Introduction to Logic, 22nd March, 2012.

IntroductionSection 1

Introduction

• Who is Nero Wolfe?

– Fictional detective created by author Rex Stout

– Genius, eccentric, bon viveur, orchid lover & misanthrope

– Subject of 33 novels and 39 short stories by Stout

– Numerous other canon and non-canon stories

Author

• Rex Todhunter Stout (1886 – 1975)

– “… among other things, banker, warrant officer on the yacht Mayflower, boss of 3,000 writers of propaganda in World War 2, gentleman farmer and dirt farmer, big businessman, cigar salesman, pueblo guide, hotel manager, architect, cabinet maker, pulp and slick magazine writer, propagandist for world government, crow trainer, jumping-pig trainer, mammoth-pumpkin grower, conversationalist, politician, orator, potted-plant wizard, gastronome, musical amateur, President of the Writers’ Guild, usher, ostler and pamphleteer.”

Introduction to Logic, 22nd March, 2012.

The ‘world’ of Nero WolfeSection 2

Setting

• Contemporary (at time of writing)

• Historically accurate

• Geographically accurate

• Primary locations not pseudonymous

• ... creative liberties notwithstanding

– Some may be inaccurate (e.g. location of Wolfe’s house)

– Invention of location for purposes of fiction

Primary Characters

• Nero Wolfe

• Archie Goodwin

• Inspector Cramer, Manhattan Homicide

Secondary Characters

• “The ’Teers”

– Saul Panzer

– Fred Durkin

– Orvald “Orrie” Cather

• Sergeant Purley Stebbins, Manhattan Homicide

Supporting Characters

• Fritz Brenner, chef and majordomo

• Theodore Horstmann, orchid expert (unseen)

• Lieutenant George Rowcliff

• Lon Cohen, Editor, New York Gazette

• Dr Edwin Vollmer

• Lily Rowan

Structure

• Wolfe is a recluse, a misanthropist and agoraphobic

– Rarely leaves his home and never on business

• Archie is Wolfe’s primary agent

– Executive and secretary

– Leg-man

– Conscience

• Saul, Fred and Orrie are Wolfe’s secondary agents

Structure

• Routine

– 8 am Breakfast

– 9 – 11 am Plant rooms

– 1.15 pm Lunch

– 4 – 6 pm Plant rooms

– 7.15 pm Dinner

• Every day except Sunday

Introduction to Logic, 22nd March, 2012.

Examples of Wolfe’s logicSection 3

• Examples will not be expressed formally today

• Next lecture will explore examples using Slate

WARNING:

SPOILERS AHEAD

A Lecture in Logic(from The Golden Spiders, 1953)

• Situation

– Pete Drossos, a 12-year-old boy, is witness to a crime

– He brings information to Wolfe, who is persuaded by his evidence

– Pete expresses an interest in becoming a detective, so Wolfe expounds on the art and science of deduction

– Wolfe uses a word unfamiliar to Pete, who interrupts; Wolfe attempts to teach Pete what to do

A Lecture in Logic(from The Golden Spiders, 1953)

... Wolfe made a face. “I’ll try to use words you have met before, but when I don’t, when one of them is a stranger to you, kindly do not interrupt. If you are smart enough to be a good detective, you are smart enough to guess accurately the meaning of a new word by the context – which means the other words I use with it. Also there is usually a clue. A moment ago I spoke of a healthy and hardy ego, and then, after your interruption, I spoke of a robust ego in the same connection. So obviously ‘robust’ means ‘healthy and hardy,’ and if you have the stuff of a good detective in you, you should have spotted it. How old are you?”

“Twelve.”

“Then I should make allowances, and do. ...”

A Lecture in Logic(from The Golden Spiders, 1953)

• Take a known statement

– e.g. “a healthy and hardy ego”

• Change one part

– e.g. “healthy and hardy” “robust”

• If the statement is not rendered nonsensical, the substitution is equivalent to the original

– “healthy and hardy” ≡ “robust”

• Therefore, the meaning of “robust” may be deduced

Murder by Animal(from Some Buried Caesar, 1953)

• Situation– Clyde Osgood has been found dead in a paddock occupied by a

prize-winning bull with a known bad temper

– Osgood has a large puncture wound to the centre of the chest

– The ends of bull’s horns are covered with blood

– The bull was worrying at the corpse at the time of discovery

• Conclusion?

Murder by Animal(from Some Buried Caesar, 1953)

• Further information– The edges of the wound are clean and distinct

– There was considerable pooling of blood under the body

– A bull usually tosses its victim after goring, tearing the flesh

– Osgood was an experienced stockman

– The bull is clean apart from the ends of his horns

• Conclusion?

Murder by Animal(from Some Buried Caesar, 1953)

• Deductions– A gore wound would be deep and show signs of torn flesh, which are

not present

– Arterial blood is under high pressure and will spray widely, including over the bull

– Given his experience, and knowing the bull’s nature, Osgood would not likely have gone into the paddock in the first place

– Blood pooling and the precision of the wound indicates that Osgood was stationary at the time of the attack

• Result– Clyde Osgood was rendered unconscious and murdered

The Department of Missing Evidence(from The Silent Speaker, 1946)

• Situation– The National Industrial Association (NIA) is locked in a bitter feud

with the Bureau of Price Regulation (BPR)

– The head of the BPR is found murdered at a conference organised by the NIA, leaving a set of six Dictaphone cylinders

– His secretary, Phoebe Gunther, is brought by Archie to Nero Wolfe’s office at his request

– Shortly thereafter she, too, is murdered

• Conclusion?

The Department of Missing Evidence(from The Silent Speaker, 1946)

• Further information– Another set of five cylinders is found

– Phoebe Gunther was a passionate believer in the work of the Bureau of Price Regulation

– Public sentiment in general is with the BPR, but particularly since the murder: the NIA is losing millions in revenue

– When Phoebe Gunther arrived at Wolfe’s home he was in the kitchen talking to Fritz

– A considerable search fails to locate the missing cylinder

• Conclusion?

The Department of Missing Evidence(from The Silent Speaker, 1946)

• Deductions– The missing sixth cylinder contains important information

– Given her beliefs, Phoebe Gunther would want the NIA to suffer as much as possible

– When Archie brought Phoebe Gunther to the brownstone, he let himself in with his key, therefore there was no doorbell to alert Wolfe to a guest. Archie would have to go to the kitchen to fetch Wolfe, leaving Phoebe Gunther alone for several minutes

• Result– The cylinder was hidden in Wolfe’s office, the last place anyone

would think to look for it

Bad to the Last Drop(from Champagne For One, 1946)

• Situation– Archie is prevailed upon by an acquaintance, Austin “Dinky” Byne, to

attend a charity ball for 4 unmarried mothers in his place

– The ball is hosted by Byne’s aunt, Mrs Louise Robilotti, in memory of her first husband, Albert Grantham, who established it

– At the ball, one of the girls reveals to Archie that another, Faith Usher, has a bottle of cyanide with her

– Archie promises to undertake to ensure that nothing untoward occurs, and maintains near constant vigilance on Faith

– Faith is served champagne, and shortly collapses and dies

• Conclusion?

Bad to the Last Drop(from Champagne For One, 1946)

• Further information– Archie is adamant that Faith did not poison herself despite pressure

to concede error and say it was suicide

– One of the invited male guests, Edwin Laidlaw, confesses to Wolfe in confidence that he, Laidlaw, was the father of Faith Usher’s baby

– Faith refused to discuss with anyone the circumstances of her pregnancy and refused all contact with Laidlaw

– Faith Usher made no secret of the cyanide: to her it was a spur to re-establish her life and not a means of committing suicide

• Conclusion?

Bad to the Last Drop(from Champagne For One, 1946)

• Further information– Cecil Grantham, Mrs Robilotti’s son from her first marriage, had

been delegated to serve the drinks at the ball

– Byne was responsible for drawing up the guest list

– He had seen Laidlaw and Faith together and thought it would be fun to invite them both

– Faith was the illegitimate child of Elaine Usher by Albert Grantham

– Byne was given a substantial income for life by his uncle; he was to remit part of that income to Elaine to support Faith

• Conclusion?

Bad to the Last Drop(from Champagne For One, 1946)

• Further information– Under duress, Byne reveals that in a fit of temper he recently

disclosed to his aunt that Faith was her previous husband’s illegitimate daughter

– Byne added Faith’s name to the invitation list in order to spite his aunt

– At a reconstruction of the event it is disclosed that the champagne served to Faith had been standing for several minutes

– At the same reconstruction it is seen that Cecil Grantham consistently handles the champagne glasses a certain way

• Conclusion?

Bad to the Last Drop(from Champagne For One, 1946)

• Deductions– Anyone familiar with Cecil Grantham’s habits would know which

glass he would offer to someone

– The champagne had been standing for several minutes, so could easily have been adulterated by anyone

– That Faith habitually carried poison with her was well known

– Mrs Robilotti, as hostess, had ultimate control of the guest list; despite her animus towards Faith, she allowed her to attend

• Result– Mrs Robilotti murdered Faith Usher with cyanide she had likely

bought herself, intending it to appear to be suicide

Introduction to Logic, 22nd March, 2012.

Extra credit problemSection 4

“The Murder of Jessica Vane”

• Based on an original Nero Wolfe mystery

• All the necessary clues are in the text

• 8½ pages

• 2 questions

“The Murder of Jessica Vane”

• The text will be sent by email

• Please read the instructions carefully

• Send answers to elliss5@rpi.edu, NOT to Professor Bringsjord

• Answers sent after 12 noon EDT, Monday, 26th March 2012 will not be considered

• Solution will provided in the lecture one week from today

Introduction to Logic, 22nd March, 2012.

QuestionsSection 5