How the hell does this work!!

[Dos_Box]

http://milaadesign.com/wizardy.html

I've tried covering the webcam on my Mac, being quiet in case it uses speech recognition and even not moving the mouse. It still does it 100%. How!!!

[localzuk]

:S I unplugged my webcam... It got it right 2 times out of 4 - with the 2 that were wrong being the image next to the right one...

[triggmiester]

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How the hell does it work??
I've got 4 people to try it and its 4 for 4.

I'm now like a kid with a new toy. I'll try this with the kids tomorrow on the whiteboard.

[FN-GM]

That is freaky got it exactly right

[localzuk]

Lol, got it. All resulting numbers are multiples of 9, and all the images for those numbers are the same each time - I just miscalculated in my head the times mentioned above :P

[Joedetic]

At first i thought it was a maths thing.

take 12....add them together you get three....three from 12 == 9....

take 15...add them together you get 6....6 from 15.....9

then ... take 99....add them together you get 18....18 from 99.....oh bugger lol

It still got it though!

[tech_guy]

Yes, this is just a pretty web version of that email that went around a couple of years back that did the same thing.

[witch]

localzuk got it - its a '9' thing

[localzuk]

localzuk got it - its a '9' thing

Lol, I hate those adverts.

[russdev]

Yep 9 it is

Exact answer :-

two-digit number [ab]=10*a+b (thus the two digits are a and b), then [ab]-(a+b)=(10a+b)-(a+b)=9a. Therefore your choice only depends on the first digit a.

they put the symbol at every 9 places, so for every a from 1 to 9, there is a symbol at 9a.

You will notice that the same symbol is at 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, 63, 72, and 81 (the possibilities for [ab]-(a+b))

[maniac]

There's only a certain number of numbers that can be produced by following the instructions, all multiples of 9.

The computer is changing the position of the shapes each time so a different shape appears on those numbers each time, making it appear random to you.

It's an old trick, but a good one.

Easier to understand when you see it laid out like this: http://www.mysticalball.com/

Sorry to spoil it, but you did ask

Mike.

[localzuk]

Yep 9 it is

Exact answer :-

two-digit number [ab]=10*a+b (thus the two digits are a and b), then [ab]-(a+b)=(10a+b)-(a+b)=9a. Therefore your choice only depends on the first digit a.

they put the symbol at every 9 places, so for every a from 1 to 9, there is a symbol at 9a.

You will notice that the same symbol is at 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, 63, 72, and 81 (the possibilities for [ab]-(a+b))

That's what I said! :P

[maniac]

Bugger, you lot posted while I was double checking my 'research' on google! lol.

Mike.

[localzuk]

Bugger, you lot posted while I was double checking my 'research' on google! lol.

Mike.

What, you didn't take a sample of numbers and use a spreadsheet? :P

[GrumbleDook]

There is always one that has to pick it apart and ruin the magic.