As the admiring gasps die down, ask what hypotheses have been generated. If no ene guesses what
actually happened, suggest that you memorized the entire directory! To prove your phenomenal memory,
produce a sheet of paper containing 50 10-digit numbers. Ask a volunteer to choose one of the numbers and
give you its index number. You will then proceed to write the number on the board. Don’t worry; there is a
system. Flere is the first number: 1. 3145943707. To obtain it, add 12 to the index number (1), which equals
13. Reverse the digits, write 31 on the board, and add cach number to the preceding one: 3+1=4, 411=5,
544-9, 94 5=14 (for double-digit numbers, only write down the second one), ete.

The third technique can be tied to comments about possible collusion between you and the volunteers.
Simply ask the doubter to help you and to write the following numbers on the board:

| 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16

Have the student pick either 1, 2, 3, or 4. Circle the choice and cross out the three numbers directly below it.
For example, if 2 is picked, circle it and cross out 6, 10, and 14. Then go to the next line and ask the volunteer
to choose either 5, 7, or 8. Proceed in the same manner until only one number remains to be circled on the last
line. Add up the circled numbers. The answer will always be 34, Have the volunteer turn to page 34, column
3, name 4 down from the top of the phone directory; then recite the entry, which you have previously memo-
rized.

The Hypotheses F i

Ask the class again what hypotheses have been generated. The hypotheses probably will fall into two
categories: (1) you actually are exhibiting ESP powers, or (2) some sort of fraud is being committed. If you have
performed the demonstration well, neither of these hypotheses will be readily testable, giving you an excellent
opportunity to discuss good (testable) vs. bad (untestable) hypotheses. If you do get caught, remember that,
just as with a bad experiment, the demonstration can always serve as a bad example. Be sure to debrief the
class after the discussion.

Conclusion

There are hundreds of scams being run on the public under the guise of ESP, and most of them are as
simple as these examples. There is nothing wrong with being mystified by a good entertainer; but just as a diet
of junk food will have an impact on one’s physical health, so will a diet of intellectual junk food affect one’s
mental health. Whatever we can do to cultivate our students’ reality-testing skills will be worthwhile indeed.

Norman E. Tandy
Mount Wachusett Community College

Reprinted with permission of Network, (Office of Educational Affairs, American Psychological Association, 1200
17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036), Winter 1985, Volume III, Number 1.

For further information, contact the author at Mount Wachusett Community College, 444 Green Street, Gardner,
MA 01440.

a

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DOUGLAS COLLEGE

ARCHIVES

 

 

Suanne D. Roueche, Editor
June 14, 1985, Vol. VIl, No. 16

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