Hitchhiker references? SW? Humanx?

[Silvercrest]

I believe Riker referred to Holmes as "history's greatest detective", or words to that effect, in an early episode. I suppose that phrasing could still be taken in ways that don't require him to be a real person.

 

[Christopher]

I believe Riker referred to Holmes as "history's greatest detective", or words to that effect, in an early episode. I suppose that phrasing could still be taken in ways that don't require him to be a real person.

Sure it can, and is. After all, "detective" is a category of fictional protagonist as well as a real profession.

For that matter, the Holmes stories did have a real-world impact on detective work. At the time they were published, many of the scientific and forensic techniques Holmes used in the stories were still not widely known or used; police still relied primarily on eyewitness accounts and confessions (which were coerced even more commonly than they still are today). But the stories were so popular that they inspired real detectives to follow Holmes's lead and adopt the methods of forensics and criminal deduction that we take for granted today.

 

[Mister Spock]

In The Schizoid Man, there's a certificate hanging on Dr. Graves' office wall naming him 'Humanoid of the Year' for his contributions to the Proxima Centauri Interplanetary Bowling League and Marching Band. Its signed by several employees of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation - Tricia McMillan (Vice President of Advanced Research), Ford Prefect (Product Manager, Artificial Intelligence Division) and Arthur Dent (Vice President of Android Production).

The references I know are mostly from Okudagrams:

• Sirius Cybernetics Corporation executives ended up in the same hospital as the lawyers who drafted the Treaty of Armens in 2255. (The Ensigns of Command)
• USS Heart of Gold received orders from Dent Arthur Dent in 2364. (Conspiracy)
• The company also had a branch on Deep Space Nine, according to the directory on the Promenade.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I'm sure it was Sir Arthur, since Holmes is fictional even within the Trek universe.

OTOH, it could also have been one of his Vulcan ancestors, as the statement "If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains - however improbable - MUST be the truth" is definitely in line with Vulcan logic.

"Elementary, Dear Data" made it pretty explicit that Sherlock Holmes was a character in stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Although I suppose technically it only confirmed that Moriarty was a fictional creation by Doyle in stories about Holmes, so you could split hairs enough to argue that it doesn't rule out Holmes being a real person that Doyle based his stories on, including a story about a fictional archvillain named Moriarty. But that seems really unlikely. The far simpler explanation is that the ancestor Spock referred to was Doyle.

I believe Riker referred to Holmes as "history's greatest detective", or words to that effect, in an early episode. I suppose that phrasing could still be taken in ways that don't require him to be a real person.

Sure it can, and is. After all, "detective" is a category of fictional protagonist as well as a real profession.

For that matter, the Holmes stories did have a real-world impact on detective work. At the time they were published, many of the scientific and forensic techniques Holmes used in the stories were still not widely known or used; police still relied primarily on eyewitness accounts and confessions (which were coerced even more commonly than they still are today). But the stories were so popular that they inspired real detectives to follow Holmes's lead and adopt the methods of forensics and criminal deduction that we take for granted today.

Just gonna leave this here