Check it out, its really cool... (Ps, if you figure it out, please don't ruin it for anyone else... not for a while anyway)
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Ive seen something like this before, so I think I know how it works, but it is really cool.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
*snicker*
I love the explanations people came up with for how it works.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
I couldn't figure it out (though I didn't try that hard), but my gf Niki (valentine014) did in like 2 seconds flat.
Pretty cool.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
That's so cheesy.
Posted by vwiggin (Member # 926) on :
I think this esp trick will not work as well against hard core poker players.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
I figured it out a few years back. I wondered if it could handle two at once, and so my sister picked a card as well. It didn't take us long to figure it out after that.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
I think this esp trick will not work well against anyone observant. Or indecisive.
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
Yeah, I figured it out as soon as I started looking at two cards instead of one... on my third try Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
:::biting my tongue cause I know the trick:::
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
IF you eliminate the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, must be correct.
Of course, years of studying and running psych experiments helped too (edit: they make you paranoid and, strangely enough, give you the munchies). I got it on the third try.
Anyone else think that at least some of the comments are planted?
[ October 27, 2004, 10:27 PM: Message edited by: MrSquicky ]
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
Heck I think most of the "comments" and "explanations" on the site, are in fact written by the author of the site. If you read them you'll find that the word usage and speech patterns of them are very similar... and not characteristic of the typical internet post, or e-mail.
Posted by Miro (Member # 1178) on :
Man, that had me going. Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Didn't I post this a few years back?
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
A friend of mine sent me a site with an identical premise years ago. I figured out the trick on my second try. Posted by Fyfe (Member # 937) on :
Silliness.
Jen
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Okay... that was weird. It was after reading some of the comments here that I looked again and figured it out. (After trying the "pick two cards" thing.) I guess I am not very observant. Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :
I just went back and forth a couple times. It's sneaky. Really nothing more than a psychological trick. But yeah, I figured it out pretty quick. :also bites tongue:
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
unh, ohrus, ads eye ung!!!!!
Posted by Stan the man (Member # 6249) on :
figured it on first try, but that was because I had seen this before. Can't blame him...he's right. No matter what card you pick he picked it out of the line up. I just hope nobody was stupid enuogh to bet money on it.
Posted by Anti-Chris (Member # 4452) on :
Figured it out in 2 seconds.
Posted by Marlozhan (Member # 2422) on :
I am proud to say that after one try and about 6 seconds of thinking, I figured it out. It's kind of a let down once you figure it out. I was hoping it was something kind of cool.
Are all those explanations from real people? That cracks me up. Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I've never seen this before, and I'm not normally good at this sort of thing, but I got this one right off the bat. Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :
quote: unh, ohrus, ads eye ung!!!!!
hum ohhn. I uhs iting eihh owwh ung!!!
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
It's one of these things that if you don't figure them out immediately, you feel very very stupid after you finally do.
In my defence, most of the bad marks in my math classes resulted from the fact that I failed to see a + or - sign in the tests, or missed a number, and then spent *hours* trying to figure out what exactly I did wrong.
I just don't pay attention to details Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Oh, rilly?
I'll have to remember that . . . Posted by vwiggin (Member # 926) on :
If you didn't get it the first time, don't worry about it. Not everyone is well suited for this kind of thing.
edited to add: Not really a post about your power of observation Kama. It was just a good excuse for a bad pun.
[ October 28, 2004, 09:59 AM: Message edited by: vwiggin ]
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
Well, it didn't take me *long*. But definitely not 2 seconds.
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
OK, I figured it out. Funny.
Posted by tt&t (Member # 5600) on :
Took two tries. So I'm a little slow. Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Figured it out.
FYI, it's not one hundred percent, which means there's some randomness to it.
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
I don't geeeeet it! I'm stoopid.
And Xav... where is Val? I haven't seen her around in a long time, and I miss her!
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
The cards on the second screen are not the cards on the first screen.
Posted by Tammy (Member # 4119) on :
Raia...don't feel bad. It took me a second or two, or three.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
This is where I find having a decent memory makes things less exciting. The first time I saw this, ages ago, I took one look at the cards on the second screen and thought to myself, "Well, duh! Of course not! None of them are the same. Where's the trick?"
It actually took me a second to realize that you weren't intended to realize that. Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
OH! I GET IT! I got it on the fourth or fifth time, hehe... that's pretty cool!
And no, I didn't look at the spoilers, I got it all by me onesy!
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
The trick works because people want to believe in magic.
Pretty delightful trick, in my opinion-- I'm glad I got snookered by it. I'm also glad I figured it out.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
What I think is funny, when you read the mail, are the people who post that the trick didn't work and the card they picked was displayed. Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
I think it probably randomly doesn't switch out the cards every once in a while... that or those people are lying/deluded Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
quote:Cliff,
I tried three times and you missed twice. Better luck next time.
Bill
Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
and
quote:Dear Cliff, I'm curious about your ESP test. I was somehow able to guess which card was going to disappear from my screen, but I couldn't correctly guess which ones would remain. No matter what I tried. Where can I find an explanation for this??? Thanks. James.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
I had to be told... Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
okay, Boris, so who WAS biting my tongue????? Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
If you're going to deceive people with a trick like this, you need to go beyond just pulling the trick. Setting the stage is very important. Thus, claiming that it is only 98% effective and having "reponses" claiming that they beat it are brilliant bits of setup. I really doubt that it ever doesn't work. They're just there to misdirect people away from the trick.
Geez, none of you are allowed to run cons with me anymore.
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
That's quite clever. Took me two goes before the penny dropped.
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
quote: The ESP experiment "worked", i.e. the web site appeared to correctly determine the playing card I selected. Knowing that you have written a book on time travel, I suspect that the original tarot card selection is a ruse, and that I in fact randomly selected a playing card, a selection that you had 5/6 probability of guessing wrong. In other words, you have discovered a limited (but real) mechanism of modifying past events . My suspicion is that "originally" the experiment failed, but with each subsequent failure you were able to modify my previous experiences until, after a few iterations, you were successful.
Can you modify "physical" past events, or is your method restricted to thoughts and perceptions?
That can't be a serious response.
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
I sent him my explanation.
Wonder if he'll post it?
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
It took me two or three tries. Then I stopped and looked at all the cards and thought to myself, "Aw, dammit, none of these are on here."
Posted by HonoreDB (Member # 1214) on :
Okay, I really want to know if those comments are all real. When I first saw this years ago, it took me about 2 seconds to find the non-esp explanation. It would be too bizarre if someone could really write a program that would convert people to a belief system.
The people who think it's gotten it wrong occasionally, or who guess two cards and are even more impressed when they don't see either of them, are funny. The people who've thought in depth about it and still ended up believing have some kind of pyschological need to believe.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote: Took me two goes before the penny dropped.
Could you say that in English, please?
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
Umm - I tried it twice before I realised the trick?
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I see. So you a flipped a coin?
Posted by Chaeron (Member # 744) on :
I figured it out immediately. I guess I am just perceptive, or cynical.
Posted by Trondheim (Member # 4990) on :
I have baffled students with this mindreading webpage. And then they have been so delighted with themselves when they finally figured it out.
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
I guess it must be an Anglo-Australian saying.
quote:Idiom: the penny dropped
colloq Understanding about something finally came.
Trondheim, your link got mine wrong three times running.
(edit: Duh, Trondheim... why did I say Tom?)
[ October 29, 2004, 07:53 AM: Message edited by: Raia ]
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Raia, its impossible for the site to get one wrong...
Read the instructions again maybe?
choose 81 -8 - 1 = 72 for example...
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Trondheim-- someone posted something similar a while ago. It's a good one.
The only problem with this website is that the character distribution on the graphic gives the answer away. It's too patterned. What I would have suggested is to break the trick up into several pages-- the initial question, the numbers/symbol page (with random, throwaway numbers being generated along with the true trick answers, as well as changing the symbols per sessiong), and then the 'mind reading' page.
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
Ok, Xav, that's what I did the first few times too... I don't know why it didn't work. Maybe I was looking at the wrong side of the number or something.
But WHY does it work??? Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Raia, write down your NUMERICAL answer every time you do it. Should only take a few tries to figure it out doing that.
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
Um, not only did I not figure it out, but it started getting it wrong again. Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
Ok, I did figure it out... but that doesn't explain why it was getting them wrong.
Unless I'm REALLY stoopid, and just can't count.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
Maybe you looked to the left of your number after figuring it out, instead of to the right.
That's what I did. It was consistantly wrong. Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
Oooh, I figured it out after a few tries. (I think)
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
I think the responses are real, but were sent in by people who are too "smart" to think dumb.
Posted by Audeo (Member # 5130) on :
It's also possible that the responses were sent in by people who 'got it' but thought it'd be funnier to email him a more creative solution, so while he didn't write them, the people who did didn't believe it either. It could be fun to write up a false explanation for it. Of course he would only choose to post those that had such off-the-wall explanations, and not any that really explained the trick. ( or if he did he hid them somewhere in the middle of that very long list, and no one ever reads the whole thing anyway, just the top and bottom.)
Posted by Lost Ashes (Member # 6745) on :
I'm embarassed that it took me that long...
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
That one was really obvious. Once I figured out how to get it to actually read my mind, it was easy to figure out the trick. (yeah, I did the whole look to the left of the number instead of the right).
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
I got an email back!
quote: Hi, How nice of you to write to me about the ESP test! Yes, you were very perceptive. Here's a letter I send to people who discover the trick or ask me questions about the test. Browse to this: http://tinyurl.com/282r
You'll learn at the site that this is part of an experiment and that all the "responses" on the page are real.
So, they're all real....
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Ooops, I never saw imogen's followup.
Um . . . *cough* , I know precisely what "the penny dropped" (and "goes") means. I was just teasing -- neither is common American English. (We would say, "the other shoe dropped" and "two tries.")
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
I often say "the penny dropped"...
Well, not often, but it's definitely a phrase I use!
Posted by dh (Member # 6929) on :
I didn't figure it out till i read the spoilers in this thread...
I am very bad at noticing details... Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
Thats so funny... and kinda sad, that all the responses are real Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Or there IS the fact that you lived in England for a while . . .
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
The other shoe dropped? What was the first shoe doing? Careless shoe-dropping will be the end of us all, mark my words...
Rivka, I just figured better safe than sorry. There's been other terms I've used and recieved (virtual) blank looks in return. Now I just explain everything.
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Could you say that in English, please?
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