Comments on: This is odd

This is odd

H. Roark — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:20:37 -0800

This is odd It aint friday but it is freaky. Anyone know how this thing works?

By: Berend

Berend — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:27:27 -0800

Simple trick. The answer is always a multiple of 9 (18, 27 etc.), up to 81. They use the same symbol for all these numbers. Then they change the symbol after each time you try, so you won't notice.

By: elbie

elbie — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:27:44 -0800

Simple. Your number will always be a multiple of nine. Example. Pick any two digits, x and y to make a two digit number: 10 * x + y. Subtract the sum of the digits: 10 * x + y - ( x + y ) = 9 * x If you look, all the multiples of nine have the same symbol.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:29:58 -0800

...and here I thought the guy was using flash to figure out which number my cursor was hovering over or something. Freaky, but cool trick.

By: Yelling At Nothing

Yelling At Nothing — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:30:17 -0800

Good trick though. Nice find.

By: aaronscool

aaronscool — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:31:11 -0800

Also the symbols next to the numbers divisible by nine change from round to round. Good trick.

By: WolfDaddy

WolfDaddy — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:31:20 -0800

Except if you got the same symbol every time you played, you'd start to think something was up. The symbol appearing at every multiple of 9 changes with each re-load. Took me a cuppacoffee to snap to that, before then I was seriously freaking out.

By: WolfDaddy

WolfDaddy — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:34:04 -0800

of course, Berend already mentioned the symbol changing in the very first comment, so why aaronschool and I are here is beyond me. More coffee! Now, if someone can predict from a two-digit number how I take my coffee, then I'll be impressed.

By: hincandenza

hincandenza — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:37:25 -0800

Creams, and lots of sugar. Shazam!!!!

By: Yelling At Nothing

Yelling At Nothing — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:38:20 -0800

It's not too hard to figure out if you look at several possible answers in the same set (like, without clicking the crystal.) Then it becomes kinda obvious. His 3D experiments are pretty cool, too.

By: Kafkaesque

Kafkaesque — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:39:35 -0800

Now, if someone can predict from a two-digit number how I take my coffee, then I'll be impressed. 32: 3 + 2 = 5 - 3 for flinching + 2 for his heels = 4 sugars, 1 tsp. yak milk. Am I right?

By: ashbury

ashbury — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:40:47 -0800

Even better than the card trick mentioned somewhere on mefi. Good link--I would never have figured it out and probably descended into madness and/or polytheistic beliefs.

By: Shane

Shane — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:50:44 -0800

Didn't work for me. 99 - 18 = 81. It told me the symbol for 75.

By: Shane

Shane — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:56:24 -0800

Wait, it did work. My mistake.

By: Shane

Shane — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:57:40 -0800

"Then they change the symbol after each time you try, so you won't notice." Indeed!

By: quercus

quercus — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:59:09 -0800

I saw this posted on Stile's blogwars page, and it was funny to see people saying it only worked like half the time, meaning their math only worked half the time!

By: Shane

Shane — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 10:02:01 -0800

People who think it didn't work may have done what I did--hit the back button because they forgot what symbol they chose. Then, of course, the symbol would have changed, and it would appear that the crystal didn't work.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 10:37:26 -0800

What coffee? Cream, no sugar. Naturally.

By: effer27

effer27 — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 10:41:22 -0800

With some sleight if hand, I used a prearraged deck and pulled the card trick off live on three of my neices and nephews. I did it thre times and it wasn't until the third try that my very perceptive nephew discerned it (if done live, try it on a single spectator with others watching from a distance and distract them from the cards).

By: andrew cooke

andrew cooke — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 11:32:58 -0800

there's a description of the maths behind this here and a bit simpler approach here (neither explains this actual trick, but they give the appropriate background).

By: dgaicun

dgaicun — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 11:44:24 -0800

Fuck the numbers, I thought of a symbol and it didn't guess it. Clearly this flash game is not my messiah. Michael Shermer, what do you have to say about all of this. . .

By: jmccorm

jmccorm — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 21:38:02 -0800

Math problem. Gotten really popular on the web lately. This is a slicker version. I like it.

By: Jimmy Olsen

Jimmy Olsen — Thu, 13 Feb 2003 01:52:58 -0800

nifty trick.