How is this possible?

[mak]

Hi all,
here is what I experienced a few months ago, and searching for an explanation for it is how I found this forum. I found a post similar to it by a member of this forum called happycats.
A person I know asked me to pick any number between say 'x' and 'y', excluding x and y, and difference in between them was of 4 . Like 17 and 21 for example.
First couple of times he missed it, but after that every time he got it right. We must have done it some 20 times at least. He used to type a number on his mobile and ask me to think of a number between any two numbers with difference of 4 and then when I saw the mobile, the number i thought was there.
Now there are some things a dont remember clearly. They are:
1) I dont remember if I told him the number before seeing the mobile.
2) I even dont remember if i picked the mobile to see the number or if it was he who showed me. Most probably it was he who showed me.

At that time I was in awe of his performance. Now that i searched net, as of now I havent found anything that explains it satisfactorally, but now I think it is just some trick rather than some power. Because I found answer to one more trick he performed which at that time I accepted as mind reading and nothing else.
But how he performed this trick, I am unable to understand. He even told me that he can do it with numbers with any amount of difference, like 300 and 400 for example. And he can do it for the whole day and still get it right.
Can anyone explain this please?

 

[Empress]

You say that he says he can do it with numbers with differences up to 300/400. Which means that the numbers you chose were much smaller gaps. Without knowing the gaps, it makes it impossible to run liklihoods that he could do this, but here are some things to remember.

1. If he told you choose number between say 20 and 30, most likely you are not going to choose 20 as a starting number or 30 as an ending number, since he just mentioned them. That drops two possibilites right there. So instead of 10 choices, you're immediately down to eight. You have to have four numbers between them, so you can't use 27, 28, or 29 as starting number, further limiting your choices.

2. People have tendencies to choose the same numbers as one another. A common mentalist trick is to tell you to choose a double-digit number odd between 10 and 40, where the digits are different. That sounds like a reasonably large number, but since it has to be odd, that knocks out half the numbers. It can't be doubles, so that knocks out 11 and 33. Then, here's the kicker. Most people are going to choose 35 or 37. Why? I don't know. But they do. Again, since you don't mention the rules explicitly, it's impossible to say how he set it up so that he could win.

3. You don't remember if you told him the numbers before he showed you the phone. Obviously if you did, he could easily have the numbers stored and just used a littled subterfuge and pulled them up to match what you told him.

Just a few possibilities off the top of my head.

And by-the-way, welcome to JREF.

 

[mak]

Thank you Empress.
There was no condition for even odd in waht he did. And I believe that most probably I told him the number and he showed me the mobile, because I remember saying that you somehow type the number and then he said that if I type the number then the screen should light for a few seconds, which it doesnt. But I think that it could be possible to make this modification in a mobile.

 

[Beerina]

Most phones have voice recognition nowadays for number input. It's possible he put it into some dial mode, you said, "34", and it just put 34 up on the screen itself.

 

[IXP]

First, of all, the fact that he used his phone to display the numbers should set off your B.S. detector immediately. Why would he do it that way?

My guess: He had all the numbers that you could guess (there are only 3) programmed as a speed dial numbers then he surrpetitiously pushed the digit to bring it up before showing it to you.

IXP

 

[mak]

Both the above things seem probable to me. Well here is something he did before that : Asked me to think of 4 digit number and (I think without me telling him the number), he asked me to check my wallet and there it was in a very small inner compartment of my wallet a piece of paper on which that number was written. I was shocked, to say the least.At that time i believed he has some superhuman power, but now I feel its some trick as I read on a site that whenever writing is involved in a mind reading, it is a trick.
The only thing I feel bad about is that I didnt observe keenly when these things were happening, nor did I try to think of some ways to make him some changes in his methods like asking him to tell his prediction to some third person rather than typing it on his mobile.
Has anyone ever experienced such a thing?
Let me add that I have been searching the net for few months and bow have given up.
If someone can explain it I would really appreciate it.
Thank you.

[ IMP:
I think I would repeat here one thing: "I found answer to one more trick he performed which at that time I accepted as mind reading and nothing else." Btw, this was not the number in my wallet thing. But the trick which I found explanation for is a very lame one, i.e. I call it lame after I got the explanation. But when he did it, I was ready to accept him as some one gifetd or who could do anything! ]

 

[mattdick]

If your friend has access to your wallet/coat/etc from time to time and the range he gives you is limited (and phrasing it like he did makes it seem like there are more possibilities than there truly are), he could have hid the 21 in your wallet, the 23 in your right coat pocket, the 25 in the inside pocket of your jacket, etc, etc, etc. Then after you chose, he directed you to the correct answer, and later removed all the misses.

I think I'll perform this trick on my kids later this evening...

 

[arthwollipot]

Your friend is practicing stage magic on you. Enjoy it for what it is. But don't fall for the line that he has some kind of paranormal powers.