TCDE-Team at 12:54, 22 May 2026

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TCDE-Team at 12:51, 22 May 2026

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	=== Postpublication Addenda ===		=== Postpublication Addenda ===
			[[File:the-battered-silicon-dispatch-box-2018-01-the-curious-incident-addenda.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|''The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box'' (january 2018, Addenda)]]

	''[ This leaf was added to the book seaprately. ]''		''[ This leaf was added to the book seaprately. ]''

TCDE-Team at 12:47, 22 May 2026

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 Had you been in a certain corner of Sussex on a bright morning in 1911, you would surely have seen him. It was quite early, and the spring dampness that hung with the mists over the south downs would have chilled you through, but the man seemed not to care. Indeed, his long, hearty stride, energetic for a man in his early fifties, displayed a sense of purpose that suggested this was more than a morning constitutional.
-Any of the locals would have instantly recognized the man, and you should too, for it was none other than [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]], one of the most famous living Englishmen. He had by now killed and revived Sherlock Holmes, published several well-received historical novels, and created a national stir by his spirited defense of George Edalji and of the British conduct in South Africa. He and his family lived at Windlesham, Crowborough, just a few miles from this very spot, and the locals were quite accustomed to seeing him during his frequent long walks around the countryside.
+Any of the locals would have instantly recognized the man, and you should too, for it was none other than [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]], one of the most famous living Englishmen. He had by now killed and revived Sherlock Holmes, published several well-received historical novels, and created a national stir by his spirited defense of [[George Edalji]] and of the British conduct in South Africa. He and his family lived at Windlesham, Crowborough, just a few miles from this very spot, and the locals were quite accustomed to seeing him during his frequent long walks around the countryside.
 Had you secretly followed you would have noticed that as [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Doyle]] approached the small town of Piltdown, he began more and more to glance around perhaps a little furtively, as though to avoid being seen. As he walked onto Piltdown common, he slowed his pace and veered off the road towards a gravel pit at Barkham Manor. On the floor of the pit were several piles of rocks which the workers had rejected, and as he passed one of these, his hand slipped into his pocket. Taking one more quick glance around and seeing no one, he dropped a handful of small, dark objects onto the heap, and then rapidly moved on. His step quickened and he seemed to relax as he continued back toward Crowborough.
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 These examples, with the exception of the Jephson incident, which we may discard since it was clearly accidental, show two things about [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Doyle]]'s practical jokes: that their intent was simply to have some harmless fun, and that they were either so transparent as to not require exposure or they were exposed by [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Doyle]] himself almost immediately. Piltdown, however, was not done simply for laughs. Says Weiner: "The planning of a sequence of events of this degree of elaborateness, of a watchfulness of the reactions of the scientific community from the days of the first meeting onwards, must betoken a motive more driving than a mere hoax or prank." I agree. And so too, oddly enough, does Winslow, for he attributes [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Doyle]]'s actions to revenge, not fun. Consequently, I believe we can disregard [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Doyle]]'s sense of humour as a factor in support of Winslow's case.
-While we are on the subject of character, we should ask if this method of achieving justice for past wrongs is consistent with [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Sir Arthur]]'s personality. There are many examples in his life of his reactions to perceived injustices. In the case of the British conduct in the Congo, the trials of Oscar Slater and George Edalji, Bernard Shaw's letter in the press on the behaviour of passengers and crew during the Titanic disaster, [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Doyle]] responded swiftly and characteristically: he wrote. His pamphlets were printed at his own expense by the thousands, and he refused a penny of profit from their sale. He wrote letters to the press. He lectured, lobbied, organized. What better example than his last and most ambitious campaign, his crusade for spiritualism?
+While we are on the subject of character, we should ask if this method of achieving justice for past wrongs is consistent with [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Sir Arthur]]'s personality. There are many examples in his life of his reactions to perceived injustices. In the case of the British conduct in the Congo, the trials of [[Oscar Slater]] and [[George Edalji]], Bernard Shaw's letter in the press on the behaviour of passengers and crew during the Titanic disaster, [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Doyle]] responded swiftly and characteristically: he wrote. His pamphlets were printed at his own expense by the thousands, and he refused a penny of profit from their sale. He wrote letters to the press. He lectured, lobbied, organized. What better example than his last and most ambitious campaign, his crusade for spiritualism?
 Of personal wrongs such as that inflicted by his former fellow medical student and mentor, George Budd, [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Doyle]] chose a more gentle revenge: satire. In The Stark Munro Letters, "Crabbe's Practice," and to some extent, the Challenger stories, he builds fascinating characters on the foundation of Budd's foibles. His battles were always fought very much in the public view. Supported by an unshakeable conviction of the rightness of his views, he had no need for private squabbling, and he believed that the great British public would in the end support him.
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 * Stern, Madelaine B. The Game's A Head. Paulette Green, Rockville Center, New York, 1983. Reveals the details of [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Sir Arthur]]'s phrenological reading at the hands of Jessie Fowler.
 * Tracy, Jack. The Encyclopedia Sherlockiana. New York: Avon Books, 1977, 1979. The best of the encyclopedias.

TCDE-Team at 11:07, 22 May 2026

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TCDE-Team at 10:08, 22 May 2026

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	\|topic=Piltdown		\|topic=Piltdown
	}}		}}
			[[File:Bot-op2-2018-the-curious-incident-of-the-missing-link.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|2018 edition]]
			[[File:Bot-op2-1988-the-curious-incident-of-the-missing-link.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|1988 edition]]

	''The Curious Incident of the Missing Link'' is an essay written by [[Doug Elliott]] published by ''The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box'' in 1988, and revised in january 2018.		''The Curious Incident of the Missing Link'' is an essay written by [[Doug Elliott]] published by ''The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box'' in 1988, and revised in january 2018.

TCDE-Team at 10:06, 22 May 2026

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TCDE-Team at 09:55, 22 May 2026

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	Piltdown scholars have largely ignored the Conan Doyle theory and, we have seen, with good reason. After reviewing the so-called evidence, we would be advised to do the same.		Piltdown scholars have largely ignored the Conan Doyle theory and, we have seen, with good reason. After reviewing the so-called evidence, we would be advised to do the same.


			=== Notes ===

			(1) Slade was sentenced to three months in jail, but escaped from England before the sentence could be carried out. He was caught cheating again in Belleville, Ontario in 1882.

			(2) I am indebted to Dr. Alvin E. Rodin for providing me with this passage, for his comments and for his analysis of Conan Doyle's thesis in ''The Medical Casebook of Doctor Arthur Conan Doyle'' (see Bibliography.)

			(3) Shameless self-promotion: You can find ''The Link'' as a Kindle ebook on Amazon.