The "Flash Mind Reader" (www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/mind)has baffled many a person with its clever techniques and instructions. When I saw it (about half an hour ago), I was amazed at how the mind reader was randomly picking numbers that I was guessing using its instructions. But is it a lucky guess, a hidden camera... or something entirely different? I decided to get to the bottom of it all.
If you haven't noticed, every number that you can possibly pick using the directions is a multiple of nine. Don't believe me? Well... follow the directions:
Choose any 2-digit number. Add together both digits and then subtract the total from your original number.
Try 80. 8+0=8. 80-8=72. 9x8=72. Try it with some other numbers, and you will find out exactally the same thing. Once I realized this, I still was amazed at how it was able to pick a random symbol out of the multiples of nine (Except for 99, which you cannot get by following the instructions because it is almost a three digit number) without any other information. And then I looked closer at the chart.
All of the multiples of nine had the same symbol, so it could not possibly get it wrong. Then I wondered, How is it a different symbol each time? The answer came to me quickly. When you look at the number 99, the only multiple of nine that does not share the same symbol, you will notice that each time you retry the mind reader, the symbol is the same. However, when you look at 81, the symbol changes each time, making the sequence of symbols seem random each time you try it. Test this out on your own and you will find the same results.
I feel like I must congratulate Andy Naughton, since I just ruined his program. He has invented something that seems magical, and almost is. Almost. Until later,
May The Truth be Told!
