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Saturday, November 19, 2005

Red Hammer

This reminds me of Dolan's Lumber that used to be in Dublin.

I got a forward a few days back. This one claimed that 98% would choose a specific set of answers to two questions at the end. the other 2% are "special". The email started with half a dozen simple arithmetic problems and then asked you to pick a color and a tool. It then predicted that you had selected Red and Hammer and if you didn't your unique in some way. For the record I picked green and hammer, but the notion that I'm mentally a bit sideways isn't news. The sender asked if anyone could explain how it works (i presume she answered red hammer). That got me thinking.

There is a thing in Artificial intelligence called prototyping. I think the same effect is working here. The idea is that some things are more prototypical members of a set than others. For example If I asked you to name birds you might say blackbird, crow, seagull, parakeet, hawk, dove, or eagle long before you got to less "bird like" animals such as emus, dodos or penguins. When your mind takes up a subject without prior thought its more apt to pick a prototypical element in a set. The calculations clear your mind of colors and the scrolling hides the question. When your then asked to name a color you'll then be unlikely to pick puce, tope or melon-whip and much more apt to pick a color of the rainbow. The same goes for hammer. Hammer is much more the prototypical tool than say a slide rule, sawsall, or combo-square.

Lets attack it another way. (The following with apologies to Dr. Edward De Bono, whose work I will now bastardize.) Imagine your brain is a deep pan of Jello you let setup in the fridge last night. If you put it out on the table and look at it it's surface is smooth. If you do noting to it it remains smooth. However imagine putting a drop of water on the surface. It makes a little pit. This is like an experience. It alters the contours of your consciousness. If you place another drop in the same place the pit gets deep. Just like water on Jell-O, repeated experiences serve to reinforce a pattern. Now imagine placing another drop on the Jell-O but this time just at the edge of the pit made by the first. It widens the pit at that point a little but most of the drop serves to reinforce the existing pit. This is like when a similar experience happens, one will seek to group it into larger existing pattern. Now place a tablespoon of water on the Jell-O. IT makes a big hole. If it encounters an existing pit its will likely obliterate it, this is like a profound experience. You might have a number of pleasant encounters with dogs, but you'll be quite shy of them forever should one maul you. When one is first taught colors they are taught the primary colors, secondary colors, along with white and black first. From then on when we encounter a new color we characterize by those colors. So when you see Teal for the first time your might say it's green-bluish. Imagine the contrary; try to describe the color blue in terms of how teak it is. A bit tougher, i should think. So when we are asked to extemporaneously name a color we are apt to pick one from the rainbow. But why red? Well red is blood, blood is danger, and danger is profound. Perhaps only the symbolism of black carries the same emotional weight as red. The same more or less applies to hammer. It was likely one of the first tools you've every encountered, its one of the most simple, and most useful of tools. Perhaps only the screwdriver beats it out.

Something far more insidious is also at work; social engineering. Buy claiming that you will be either in the 98% (gasp! how could I be so pigeon holed? Could such an outrageous claim be true?) or flattering you by placing you in a 2% (I just knew I was special!) they are encouraging you to resend this email. But since your unlikely to get a proper scientific data set you'll never be able to fully debunk the claim. Even if you did, the piss in the pool because the forward has already gone out.

Labels: image, internet, social engeering