You are what you think you are.

“Similarities between Gregory House and the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, created by Arthur Conan Doyle, appear throughout the series.[13] Shore explained that he was always a Holmes fan, and found the character’s indifference to his clients unique.[11] The resemblance is evident in House’s reliance on psychology in problem-solving, even where it might not seem obviously applicable,[7] and his reluctance to accept cases he finds uninteresting.[14] His investigatory method is to logically eliminate diagnoses as they are proved impossible; Holmes used a similar method.[6] Both characters play instruments (House plays the piano, the guitar, and the harmonica; Holmes, the violin) and take drugs (House is addicted to Vicodin; Holmes uses cocaine recreationally). House’s relationship with Dr. James Wilson echoes that between Holmes and his confidant, Dr. John Watson.[6] Robert Sean Leonard, who portrays Wilson, said that House and his character—whose name is very similar to Watson’s—were originally intended to work together much as Holmes and Watson do; in his view, House’s team has assumed that aspect of the Watson role.[15] Shore said that House’s name itself is meant as “a subtle homage” to Holmes.[6][16] The number of House’s apartment, 221B, is a reference to Holmes’s street address.[7]

Individual episodes of the series contain additional references to the Sherlock Holmes tales. The main patient in the pilot episode is named Rebecca Adler, after Irene Adler, a character in the first Holmes short story.[17] In the season 2 finale, House is shot by a crazed gunman credited as “Moriarty”, the name of Holmes’s nemesis.[18] In the season 4 episode “It’s a Wonderful Lie”, House receives a “second edition Conan Doyle” as a Christmas gift.[19] In the season 5 episode “Joy to the World”, Wilson gives House a book by Joseph Bell, Conan Doyle’s inspiration for Sherlock Holmes,[6] as a Christmas present. Wilson includes a message that reads, “Greg, It made me think of you”, and names an Irene Adler as the alleged sender before taking credit.[20]“