Comments on: Darth Vader reads your mind

Darth Vader reads your mind

Justin Case — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:28:43 -0800

Darth Vader reads your mind.

By: Justin Case

Justin Case — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:32:15 -0800

I was thinking of a locomotive and he guessed it in less than 20 questions. spooky

By: dobbs

dobbs — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:32:41 -0800

Burger King loves Metafilter.

By: PuppyCat

PuppyCat — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:34:51 -0800

Jeez. I saw the Burger King logo and closed the brower window.

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:36:45 -0800

I guess Vader's got some free time before his son is old enough to come and try to kill him.

By: kickingtheground

kickingtheground — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:38:41 -0800

We've discussed 20Q before, and I'm pretty sure this is just a lame branded flash interface for it.

By: Jawn

Jawn — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:39:59 -0800

The Burger King coming out and whispering the answer to Vader is pretty amusing.

By: Ubiq

Ubiq — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:41:20 -0800

It's all worth it to see the animation at the end. Let's just say it's a reward most fowl. By 'all worth it', of course, I mean, it's always good to check in on how George Lucas has cashed in on my childhood hopes and dreams. It gives one perspective.

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:41:25 -0800

Nice...If you go past twenty questions, Vader starts to treat you with some respect ("You are strong. You would make a strong asset.") Kickingtheground : I'm pretty sure this is just a lame branded flash interface for it. True. Though, like Jawn, I was kind of amused by the emperor being the Burger King.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:42:48 -0800

Plus, what kind of dark force is he if you can beat him with Persimmon?

By: fatbobsmith

fatbobsmith — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:43:02 -0800

The power of the dark side of the Force seems to have considerable difficulty with canteloupes.

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:44:23 -0800

He doesn't know much about wargaming figures either. I guess because 40K is a different area of fandom.

By: fungible

fungible — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:47:37 -0800

I chose "ice cream." His first three guesses were a joint, scotch and wine. I think we see who Burger King's target audience is here.

By: Fuzzy Monster

Fuzzy Monster — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:47:46 -0800

You guys remember that scene in 'Jedi' when Darth Vader picks up his Burger King 'Emperor Palpatine' Collector's Cup and manages to throw it down a shaft even though the Collector's Cup is shooting blue lightning through Vader's entire body? That was awesome.

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:50:15 -0800

Wow. He managed to guess "booger" on number 20. I just wanted to see Darth Vader read my mind while I was thinking about boogers.

By: casu marzu

casu marzu — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:59:03 -0800

what kind of dark force is he if you can beat him with Persimmon? The power of the dark side of the Force seems to have considerable difficulty with canteloupes. So he's not so good with the fresh fruits, huh? Well, what did you expect from a Burger King employee?

By: lalalana

lalalana — Sun, 29 May 2005 11:59:05 -0800

I found his trash talk to be strangely threatening. I stumped him with "magazine."

By: spacediver

spacediver — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:00:23 -0800

he wasn't able to guess "neurotransmitter"

By: furtive

furtive — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:03:42 -0800

He guessed Picture Frame correctly, but I stumped him with a CD.

By: banished

banished — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:06:27 -0800

He didn't guess Alderann! Although to be fair, I started off by thinking of the moon, but then changed my mind to Alderann before I started... and he guessed the Moon at the end. So I guess I am a cheater.

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:08:33 -0800

I'm not too surprised that Vader is unfamiliar with vibrators. However, it is somewhat surprising that he doesn't appear to know what a light saber is.

By: muppetboy

muppetboy — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:18:13 -0800

he got plutonium.

By: ch3ch2oh

ch3ch2oh — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:18:35 -0800

"midichlorian" Vader does not get.

By: Stauf

Stauf — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:27:14 -0800

bugbread: he got light saber for me. But then, he did say that my thoughts betrayed me, so maybe I'm just weak-minded...

By: filmgeek

filmgeek — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:29:59 -0800

bug bread...he managed saber. just not light saber.

By: thedevildancedlightly

thedevildancedlightly — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:30:28 -0800

It got "wombat." I'm amazed at how a good 20 questions algorithm is able to narrow the universe of all possible objects within 20 questions, especially given how many "maybe" and "sometimes" answers are given.

By: casu marzu

casu marzu — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:30:54 -0800

The prologue scroll, done in the same style as the films:

THE SITH SENSE It is a time of intergalactic uncertainty. Darth Vader's power continues to grow. He is now honing his abilities on anyone and everyone. If you think of an object, he will ask you questions, read your thoughts and tell you what you were thinking of. All within twenty questions. This object can be anything, as long as its general, as Lord Vader doesn't concern himself with specifics. He'll answer "Human being", but he won't answer "your friend Chuck". The more you challenge Vader, the more intelligent he becomes as he continues his quest to become the most powerful force in the galaxy...

Nice work. It's dumb enough that George Lucas himself could have written it.

By: muppetboy

muppetboy — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:33:33 -0800

damn. he got rubber ducky too!

By: muppetboy

muppetboy — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:35:24 -0800

i was thinking lord vader's experience of rubber duckies might be limited. but apparently i was wrong.

By: scody

scody — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:38:36 -0800

Hapsburg Empire 1, Lord Vader 0.

By: yarmond

yarmond — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:39:20 -0800

Vader asked me, "Does it weigh more than a duck?" What, is he concerned that my object might be a witch?

By: C17H19NO3

C17H19NO3 — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:43:07 -0800

he couldn't guess "woman"...

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:47:53 -0800

beat him with "a sandwich". Also... Darth Vader reads your e-mail.

By: muppetboy

muppetboy — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:48:57 -0800

well i stumped him on "the death star", but maybe that's specific. he did get "space station", which is suppose is close enough.

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:54:13 -0800

He seems to have quite the fixation with sex and hockey players, too.

By: phyrewerx

phyrewerx — Sun, 29 May 2005 13:01:38 -0800

I was thinking twins, he guessed soulmate. Guessed losing Padme put him in denial.

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Sun, 29 May 2005 13:04:17 -0800

hmmm ... he got cigarette lighter on question 19 ... so close ...

By: phyrewerx

phyrewerx — Sun, 29 May 2005 13:05:25 -0800

Ok, him guessing Orc and Cannibals is a sign that a mere human can flummox the Sith.

By: Derive the Hamiltonian of...

Derive the Hamiltonian of... — Sun, 29 May 2005 13:26:59 -0800

Well, he knows condom now, and apparently already knew lubricant. I don't think this game is going to be child safe for very long. I'm going to teach him a few sets of responses for "Ted Koppel" that would also work for common items. Boring game, but fun to sabotage.

By: redbeard

redbeard — Sun, 29 May 2005 13:30:58 -0800

Dude. He couldn't get 'tennis ball' Lame

By: ktoad

ktoad — Sun, 29 May 2005 13:34:11 -0800

Lord Vader couldn't guess "dildo" in 30 questions. I am most displeased.

By: palinode

palinode — Sun, 29 May 2005 13:53:16 -0800

What's with the Stormtrooper sneaking around behind Vader? He reminds me of this crazy drunk guy that used to bug me when I worked in a watch repair shop. Vader could not guess iguana, but he saw correctly that my heart is full of evil.

By: Eideteker

Eideteker — Sun, 29 May 2005 13:58:26 -0800

He said I would make an excellent addition to the dark side. But I already told them I would not pledge their stupid frat. He guessed popsicle (I was thinking Otter Pops, but he said no specific objects) and Triceratops, but couldn't guess cloud in 30 tries. Around question #25, he asked if it could be found in the sky, and I said yes. After question 30, he presented me with a list of options, one of which was "a drunk". I guess, if he's on a commercial airline flight.

By: A dead Quaker

A dead Quaker — Sun, 29 May 2005 14:08:14 -0800

Funny, he got 'tennis ball' in 29 questions with me. He asked a lot of questions with vague answers for that object, like 'is it a household item' and 'is it used at night'.

By: Staggering Jack

Staggering Jack — Sun, 29 May 2005 14:16:59 -0800

Dark side? More like that Burger King guy belongs to the dork side.

By: VulcanMike

VulcanMike — Sun, 29 May 2005 14:24:20 -0800

lol. I broke it. I just gave random answers for quite a while, and Vader's just staring back at me, the orb spinning without words and the music happliy maching along. Dark Side 0 MeFites 1

By: senor biggles

senor biggles — Sun, 29 May 2005 14:28:45 -0800

Couldn't get "The Force" - what a maroon!

By: drezdn

drezdn — Sun, 29 May 2005 14:38:27 -0800

It took more than 27 times to get notebook.

By: ZachsMind

ZachsMind — Sun, 29 May 2005 14:38:31 -0800

I broke it. My bad. Sorry. Vader's just staring back at me now too, with the orb spinning and the music, but he's just standing there like a doofus. I outsmarted him. He was saying "Nebula" and answers that were way off base. After he failed with thirty questions, when I submitted my answer, among the choices were "play (performance)" which was kinda close, but not close enough. My answer was "Motion Picture (movie)." He looks very embarrassed and dumbfounded. He did get "Rain" on the 29th question, and got "goose" within twenty questions but first he asked if it were a duck. The obvious Burger King product placement's mildly annoying, but predictably tolerable.

By: dflemingdotorg

dflemingdotorg — Sun, 29 May 2005 15:08:27 -0800

It got that I was thinking about a vibrator. Creepy.

By: Soliloquy

Soliloquy — Sun, 29 May 2005 15:26:01 -0800

Funny, he guessed "sandwich" correctly for me, but only several questions after I had to click "close" to "I'm thinking it's a ham sandwich?" Couldn't get anything else right. You'd think they'd train it better with Star Wars phrases. *Jedi mind trick hand wave* These aren't the items you're looking for!

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Sun, 29 May 2005 15:28:11 -0800

dflemingdotorg : "It got that I was thinking about a vibrator.

"Creepy." That was probably because of me.

By: calico

calico — Sun, 29 May 2005 15:47:05 -0800

I was thinking 'guitar', which stumped him. But not before he'd tried sitar, mandolin and ukulele with me. Odd.

By: dreamsign

dreamsign — Sun, 29 May 2005 15:57:09 -0800

Well, pomegranate in exactly 20 questions. But I don't think that the Burger King's participation is particularly amusing. Lucas is fast becoming one of the "if I could go back in time and kill" personalities of our generation.

By: ChrisTN

ChrisTN — Sun, 29 May 2005 15:57:29 -0800

After I answered that my object was red, tastes sweet, and can be used in a pie, Darth asked me if it had four legs. I doubt the power of the Dark Side.

By: dreamsign

dreamsign — Sun, 29 May 2005 16:06:02 -0800

"Is it larger than a microwave?" Mmm. Well, yes. Not larger than a microwave oven, no, but a microwave? Definitely.

By: scody

scody — Sun, 29 May 2005 16:16:27 -0800

Guessed "viola" in 20, "terrier" in 19, but -- Eddie Izzard bit about ordering penne arribiata on the Death Star notwithstanding -- was utterly stumped by "pasta."

By: maryh

maryh — Sun, 29 May 2005 16:22:39 -0800

I hate to sound like a size queen, but I always thought Darth Vader would be, well, bigger than the Burger King.

By: fluffycreature

fluffycreature — Sun, 29 May 2005 16:55:54 -0800

Maryh, not sure what you mean by size per say, but I thought the same thing and figured they could at least get someone who could actually fill out the Vader costume to stand there and make gestures. The costume looks about two sizes to large for this kid. Meanwhile, mini-Darth didn't get titanium and he "thought he would ask more questions to toy with me." I am going to the bar now and use the Jedi mind trick there...

By: kafziel

kafziel — Sun, 29 May 2005 17:00:44 -0800

I'm never quite sure how to answer these. If the object I'm thinking of is "clitoris" ... well, how do I answer the question "Can it be found in a classroom?" I mean, yeah, chances are you'll find one if you look in the right places, but answering "Yes" is only gonna confuse it.

By: xthlc

xthlc — Sun, 29 May 2005 17:08:18 -0800

Holy crap, he got amphallang. I'm quite disturbed by that.

By: Samizdata

Samizdata — Sun, 29 May 2005 17:36:15 -0800

The Dark Side is strong in him. He got web cam....

By: BuddhaInABucket

BuddhaInABucket — Sun, 29 May 2005 17:40:21 -0800

xthic- I had to look that up, and now I'm disturbed that there's such a scientific-sounding word for that.

By: fossil_human

fossil_human — Sun, 29 May 2005 17:41:15 -0800

It took him 29 questions to get "desk calender" and I sort of that gave that to him, because I was thinking of a wall calender.

By: fossil_human

fossil_human — Sun, 29 May 2005 17:41:38 -0800

oops: "I sort of gave that" not "that gave".

By: Axaxaxas Mlö

Axaxaxas Mlö — Sun, 29 May 2005 18:06:08 -0800

Well, the microwaves found in an oven are about a foot long.

By: unsupervised

unsupervised — Sun, 29 May 2005 18:27:13 -0800

Stumped him with Tivo, which is funny, since it's probably the reason he exists in this form.

By: pointilist

pointilist — Sun, 29 May 2005 18:43:01 -0800

couldn't run with "scissors" got bored at 26 questions.

By: donkeymon

donkeymon — Sun, 29 May 2005 19:03:03 -0800

It couldn't get "Big Mac." It seemed to think that "Cheeseburger" was close enough. At least it didn't guess "Whopper."

By: dhruva

dhruva — Sun, 29 May 2005 19:25:41 -0800

stumped him with 'arsenic'.

By: PurplePorpoise

PurplePorpoise — Sun, 29 May 2005 20:24:47 -0800

It's kinda cool that this thing will "learn." Yeah, Lucas is a whoremaster (but only because 'pimp' has non-negative connotations to it these days). /guess Lord Vader knows about B.acgerial A.rtificial C.hromosome clones now, dang!

By: nola

nola — Sun, 29 May 2005 22:01:42 -0800

what did you expect from a Burger King employee? would you like an apple pie with that? these ads go well with the tone of the movie.

By: jackdirt

jackdirt — Sun, 29 May 2005 22:17:24 -0800

What kind of sith lord is he I stumped him with darth vader? His guesses were an elf, a leprechaun, and a wookie.

By: vagus

vagus — Sun, 29 May 2005 23:32:41 -0800

He got Joystick on the first try (like question 20)

By: flippant

flippant — Mon, 30 May 2005 00:19:15 -0800

"You have the skills [breathing] to pay the bills"

By: slf

slf — Mon, 30 May 2005 05:43:43 -0800

Oh my. He got Hub/Router by question 19. I'm impressed. I must meditate with the Force on this.

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Mon, 30 May 2005 06:24:10 -0800

I thought I'd exhausted any humor inherent in it until this exchange, thinking of the word "vibrator": "Is it used for entertainment?" -- Yes "Is it electronic?" -- Yes "I'm thinking it's a bratwurst."

By: state fxn

state fxn — Mon, 30 May 2005 13:12:04 -0800

No "atom."

By: ferociouskitty

ferociouskitty — Mon, 30 May 2005 16:01:56 -0800

I was thinking vibrator, Vader thought I was thinking wedding ring. Hmm.....

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Mon, 30 May 2005 18:58:00 -0800

Vader seems to have quite the problem with vibrators.