General Question

troubleinharlem's avatar

How do 20Q applications/toys know what I'm thinking?

Asked by troubleinharlem (7991points) November 24th, 2009 from IM

I’ve always wondered that. I mean, there are millions of things out there. How does it always get it right? Or at least, get it close?

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

7 Answers

mowens's avatar

Big brother knows all.

mowens (8403points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…
grumpyfish's avatar

From Wikipedia: “Mathematically, if each question is structured to eliminate half the objects, 20 questions will allow the questioner to distinguish between 1,048,576 subjects”

Also: http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=EP&NR=1710735&KC=&FT=E

grumpyfish (6657points)“Great Answer” (2points) Flag as…
sebastian_von_tulu's avatar

@troubleinharlem This is why you should always wear a tinfoil hat.

sebastian_von_tulu (1027points)“Great Answer” (1points) Flag as…
osullivanbr's avatar

I heard rumors that parts of David Copperfield’s soul has been harnessed in those toys. The cheaper ones are powered by the devil himself.
Dangerous stuff.

osullivanbr (3630points)“Great Answer” (1points) Flag as…
erichw1504's avatar

They are SKYNET applications. Use caution.

erichw1504 (26448points)“Great Answer” (1points) Flag as…
grumpyfish's avatar

@troubleinharlem: Person Place or Thing?

grumpyfish (6657points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…

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