Good clinical judgment is an important skill inmedical
practice. This is well illustrated in the quote by Joseph
Bell,
1
who demonstrated impressive observational and
deductive skills. Bell was one of Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle’s teachers and served as a model for the ficti-
tious detective Sherlock Holmes.
2
Generally, human
judgment involves complex processes, whereby
ingrained, often less consciously deliberated responses
fromperceptual cues aremixed with semantic calcula-
tions to affect decision making.
3
Thus all social inter-
actions, including diagnosis in clinical practice, are
influenced by reflexive as well as reflective processes
in human cognition and communication.