Lessons in Analytics from a Fake Psychic
Learning from Shawn Spencer on the USA series “Psych”
Television has always found room for the occasional show about geniuses. As technology has evolved, that particular room has expanded in everything from (more) detective shows to sitcoms. And the best examples of this trend have focused on the people, not on their tools.
In the 2000s, we saw Monk, Numb3rs, and The Mentalist, to name a few. We’ve seen Scorpion, Criminal Minds, and even The Big Bang Theory. In some of these shows, we also see the ‘darker side’ of genius embodied by everything from schoolyard bullying to actual medical issues.
We’re here to talk about Psych, quite possibly the most truly entertaining example of the bunch.
The show features Shawn Spencer, pretending to be psychic because no one would believe that he reaches his often brilliant conclusions by being incredibly observant, extremely clever, and trained in crime scene analysis by his father (retired detective, equally skilled). It was almost, but not quite, exactly unlike The Mentalist. It preceded The Mentalist, by the way, but that’s not important now.
Psych is fun. It also consistently illustrates skilled analytics in action.
I’ve heard it both ways.
Gathering Data
Shawn spends the majority of each episode acting foolish, talking about food, and making obscure pop culture references. At the same time, he is constantly evaluating and analyzing people and crime scenes. He is always observing, a habit ingrained in him since childhood. The noted data points are often highlighted during the episode and sometimes revealed in the conclusion.
Using Data
While Psych has its share of “a-ha!” moments that are mandatory in every crime show, Shawn’s conclusions are fully explained and related back to the data he’s gathered. The process of query-to-data-to-result is laid out clearly and openly, woven into his lies about ‘psychic’ revelations.
Prototyping and Iteration
Shawn rarely walks into the room full of puzzled investigators and immediately claims to know the answer.
Wait- he does that every week. He just doesn’t mean it. Shawn gathers whatever data is immediately available and shares the first ridiculous conclusion that comes to his mind.
In the show, he claims this to be part of “his process”. It’s a device to keep the police guessing while he follows the leads on the way to solving the case. Each minor conclusion sparks the next idea, which leads to the next step.
And when a piece of evidence comes along that completely destroys his theory, he admits it (to himself and Gus) and looks for a new theory.
Collaboration
Shawn Spencer is undoubtedly the star of the show and, in the show, usually the smartest person in the room. But he rarely works alone, and the other characters often pick up connections and have good ideas before he does.
Shawn is awesome, but the show never tries to make him appear perfect.
Training
I debated on whether to make this issue first or last, but I honestly thought I’d lose some readers if I mentioned it before getting you invested to some extent.
Unlike most shows with ‘genius’ characters, Shawn is never presented as inexplicably gifted. He’s good at what he does because he’s been taught, he’s been trained, and he’s been practicing these skills almost since he learned to talk.
We see Henry, his father, in flashbacks with toddler Shawn, teaching him to spot individual traits or get in the habit of counting the number of hats in a room (any room he enters).
That might be a bit much, but I give them a little leeway for being a TV show.
And before I forget…
Watch the show. It’s entertaining. It’s occasionally educational.
And it has a pretty catchy theme song, written and performed by the show’s creator, which you can hear at this link.
