_The Flash Mind Reader_ - How It Works _ ArtLung _ Words

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ArtLung Words "The Flash Mind Reader" - How It Works

"The Flash Mind Reader" - How It Works

So my roommate sent me this Flash Mind Reading thing at

http://mr-31238.mr.valuehost.co.uk/assets/Flash/psychic.swf,

frustrated with it and herself, mystified about how the thing

worked. Lots of bloggers have linked to it, and it surprises me

the number of people who this frustrates.

I figured it out.

Before I reveal how I figured it out, and why it works, let's

review the instructions:

"Choose any two digit number, add together both digits

and then subtract the total from your original number.

When you have the final number look it up on the chartand find the relevant symbol. Concentrate on the symbol

and when you have it clearly in your mind click on the

crystal ball and it will show you the symbol you are

thinking of"

================================================================

STEP 1: Choose any two digit number

----------------------------------------------------------------

There are lots of those! Numbers 10 to 99. And to emphasize

all those choices we get a graphic filled with wingdings:


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Dizzying! All those possibilities. All these numbers the computer

has to figure out when reading your mind! How can it do it?

Can it do it? Is it possible that a computer can read my mind?

================================================================

================================================================

STEP 2: add together both digits and then subtract the total

from your original number.

----------------------------------------------------------------Oh. Actually it's not going to read the number I thought of. It

wants me to do math first. It's still impressive if it can do it

though, because there are so many possibilities. If I think of

a really hard number that nobody will have thought of, I can

beat this stupid thing and prove it wrong!

================================================================

================================================================

STEP 3: When you have the final number look it up on the chart

and find the relevant symbol. Concentrate on the symbol

and when you have it clearly in your mind click on thecrystal ball and it will show you the symbol you are

thinking of

----------------------------------------------------------------

So you do the math, and the thing works! Aigh! and I chose my

number so carefully!

================================================================

================================================================

SO HOW DOES IT WORK?

----------------------------------------------------------------

It turns out that for all the possible numbers you can choose,there are not all that many possible results to the calculation

you are asked to do on the number you choose.

Here's all of the possible numbers, alongside the calculations:

+---------------+-------------------+--------------------+

| ALL TWO | THE DIGITS | THE DIGIT TOTAL |

| DIGIT | ADDED | SUBTRACTED |

| NUMBERS | TOGETHER | FROM THE NUMBER |

+---------------+-------------------+--------------------+

| 10 | 1 + 0 = 1 | 10 - 1 = 9 |

| 11 | 1 + 1 = 2 | 11 - 2 = 9 |

| 12 | 1 + 2 = 3 | 12 - 3 = 9 || 13 | 1 + 3 = 4 | 13 - 4 = 9 |

| 14 | 1 + 4 = 5 | 14 - 5 = 9 |

| 15 | 1 + 5 = 6 | 15 - 6 = 9 |

| 16 | 1 + 6 = 7 | 16 - 7 = 9 |

| 17 | 1 + 7 = 8 | 17 - 8 = 9 |

| 18 | 1 + 8 = 9 | 18 - 9 = 9 |

| 19 | 1 + 9 = 10 | 19 - 10 = 9 |

| 20 | 2 + 0 = 2 | 20 - 2 = 18 |

| 21 | 2 + 1 = 3 | 21 - 3 = 18 |

| 22 | 2 + 2 = 4 | 22 - 4 = 18 |

| 23 | 2 + 3 = 5 | 23 - 5 = 18 |


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| 81 | 8 + 1 = 9 | 81 - 9 = 72 |

| 82 | 8 + 2 = 10 | 82 - 10 = 72 |

| 83 | 8 + 3 = 11 | 83 - 11 = 72 |

| 84 | 8 + 4 = 12 | 84 - 12 = 72 |

| 85 | 8 + 5 = 13 | 85 - 13 = 72 |

| 86 | 8 + 6 = 14 | 86 - 14 = 72 |

| 87 | 8 + 7 = 15 | 87 - 15 = 72 |

| 88 | 8 + 8 = 16 | 88 - 16 = 72 |

| 89 | 8 + 9 = 17 | 89 - 17 = 72 |

| 90 | 9 + 0 = 9 | 90 - 9 = 81 || 91 | 9 + 1 = 10 | 91 - 10 = 81 |

| 92 | 9 + 2 = 11 | 92 - 11 = 81 |

| 93 | 9 + 3 = 12 | 93 - 12 = 81 |

| 94 | 9 + 4 = 13 | 94 - 13 = 81 |

| 95 | 9 + 5 = 14 | 95 - 14 = 81 |

| 96 | 9 + 6 = 15 | 96 - 15 = 81 |

| 97 | 9 + 7 = 16 | 97 - 16 = 81 |

| 98 | 9 + 8 = 17 | 98 - 17 = 81 |

| 99 | 9 + 9 = 18 | 99 - 18 = 81 |

+---------------+-------------------+--------------------+

We can now see that despite the fact that we get to choose fromnumbers 10 to 99, really, there are only 9 possible numbers to

be put on our mind. So while there are lots of symbols provided,

we only have to worry about 9 of them: 9 18 27 36 45 54 63 72 81

And if we look close, we'll find that despite the fact that the

symbols are randomized, there is a peculiar consistency in the

Mind Reader: multiples of 9 always share the same symbol.

Refresh the page and you'll see a new symbol, but 9 and 45 and

81 (and the rest of them) will always share that new symbol.


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================================================================

================================================================COMMENT: PSYCHIC THOUGHTS

----------------------------------------------------------------

It irritates me that people believe in psychic phenomena. We so

often attribute strange things to psychic powers. The truth is

that The Flash Mind Reader is a magic trick like all other magic

tricks. It uses misdirection (the many numbers, the randomized

symbols) and hocus pocus (the creepy fade-up of the symbol, the

accompanying sound, vaguely occult wingdings) to get us thinking

about psychic things. The magician only wants you to suspend

your disbelief to fool you. And that's how "The Flash Mind

Reader" works. Magic.

Magic in the sense of hacking with our perceptions and

assumptions. The truth is usually more mundane than we hope.

================================================================

Joe Crawford 6 March 2003

================================================================

Addendum: reader Lee Fernandes writes that the piece could use

some clarification, and here's what he suggested:

Every outcome of the math results in a multiple of 9. Every

multiple of 9 always shares the same symbol, so it is

inevitable that you and the Flash "Mind Reader" will always

pick the same symbol...you're both doing the same math.

================================================================

About Joe Crawford

Joe Crawford is a web designer and programmer. More information about his background, his employer, and his


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projects can be found at Read his current thoughts at artlung.com/blog.

Share your feedback with Joe!

2003 Joe Crawford.

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_The Flash Mind Reader_ - How It Works _ ArtLung _ Words