It feels like there has been a renewed interest in the Curry Open Prediction plot recently (what with all the drama surrounding Unnamed Magician), and behind the scenes here, it’s a plot we at the Oval have discussed on multiple occasions. Each of us has our own favorite methods, but methods are useless without a presentation.

It feels like 99% of the presentations out there for this and similar plots fall into two veins: prediction and influence. Both of these lean more toward magician-centric than participant-centric, and the specific mechanics of the plot don’t seem well-justified by either of these presentations. So here’s my attempt at truly making the participant the star of the show in a presentation that feels grounded in reality and makes the mechanics make sense in context:

“Have you ever seen those IQ tests where they give a sequence of abstract images they say form a pattern and then ask you what the next one in the series should be?”

“After the first few easy ones, I always struggle with figuring out what the rule is supposed to be with those things. But it feels like I get them right more often than I should even when I’m just guessing. It’s like my intuition is better at continuing a pattern than my rational mind is at explaining how that pattern is constructed. So the last time I played with them, I tried a trick: I overloaded my brain to see if I could get that rational part of my mind to just reinforce instead of override my intuition. The way I do it is like this: I sing an old song I know the lyrics to while I study the pattern, and then, even if I can’t figure out what the rule I’m supposed to be following is, I just go with my gut after a minute or so. Would you like to see if it works for you?”