Boeingman said:
In my continued quest for knowledge any of you brains out there know how these work?
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/psytest.php
http://digicc.com/fido/
Just simple ole Math, and a little redirection.
For the first one, try several combinations and see what the number is you come up with.
10 => 10 - 1 = 9
11 => 11 - 2 = 9
12 => 12 - 3 = 9
you see a pattern???
20 => 20 - 2 = 18
21 => 21 - 3 = 18
another pattern?
30 => 30 - 3 = 27
31 => 31 - 4 = 27
yet another pattern...
and a larger pattern... 9, 18, 27, 36....
Take a look at the symbols next to the numbers 9, 18, 27, 36, etc... they're all the same symbol.
all the other numbers (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10,11,12, etc.), are just the "redirection."
The guy could have said, "Pick any 2 digit number, add the digits, subtract the result from your original number, and the result will always be a multiple of 9." That would have illicited nothing more than a yawn. Do the same thing with a big table of numbers and symbols, make a "Magic Crystal ball" produce the symbol for 9, and it illicits a "Wow, how does he do that?!?!?"
The other link uses similar patterns based on the instructions given. Depending on the numbers you pick and how you rearrange, there's a finite number of "differences." You type in the "remaining digits," and presto - - it's magic.