tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78821449542501152862024-02-18T20:14:58.529-07:00The Everyday DeductionistAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-90582026286857394892017-01-21T16:10:00.001-07:002017-01-21T16:27:27.744-07:00A Digression into Cold-ReadingMany people, particularly those of /r/scienceofdeduction, enjoy deductive exercises in which one is presented with a picture and from it, attempts to extract as much meaningful information as possible about the owner/taker/subject of the image. Much to the surprise of the original poster of the image, people can be quite good at this game. Personally, I love that people have taken the time out of their day to practice such things.<br /><br />Unfortunately, community learning tends to suffer from a lack of rigor. One of the problems I have seen with games like this (problems which I attempt to avoid as much as humanly possible when engaging in this activity) is that people tend to conflate the ideas of "doing deductions" with something called "cold reading" in a(n) (sometimes subconscious) attempt to make their results sound more impressive.<br />
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Cold reading is a technique used both to gather information about a subject, and to artificially increase the validity or importance of the information already collected. It is used by magicians and performers who wish to appear more knowledgeable or perceptive than they actually are. While it can be quite entertaining, it strays from the art of detection in subtle ways that I will attempt to elaborate upon.<br />
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<b>It's Easy to Backpedal</b><br />
<b> </b><br />
First of all, those who perform cold reading will often wrap their assertions in uncertainty by using words such as "perhaps" or "maybe" or "possibly."<br /><br />It's fine to be unsure, but be sure the parties involved are aware of your uncertainty in order to avoid stepping over the line into being overtly mysterious. A good rule of thumb I use is that if someone were to announce that they had proof that your deduction was incorrect, it would have to be iron-clad evidence to even introduce a shred of doubt into your mind.<br /><br />Always lean towards saying too little, keeping the rest for further meditation than saying too much, forcing other people to cherry-pick the facts from the guesses.<br />
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<b>It's Vague</b><br /><br />Cold readers rely HEAVILY on what I'll call "fortune-cookie statements." You've seen them. They are those phrases you see so often in horoscopes that say things like, "You've recently suffered a loss of some kind," or "you tend to get stressed when your plans fall apart."<br />
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These phrases might have some truth to them, but be wary - it is only the truth that you yourself ascribe to them. That's the point. A cold-reader doesn't know the truth, so they say things that allow the audience/mark to fill in the blanks in their own mind. They can be dangerous as they tend to create the idea that the cold-reader has an incredibly complete picture of the subject and is thus qualified to make personally relevant statements, knowing that the subject will know what it means. It is not the case.<br /><br />Fortunately, there is an easy 2-part vagueness test one can apply to statements such as these. It goes as follows:<br />
<ol>
<li>Is this statement true for lots of people? Not what you think the statement refers to, but the literal statement itself. Most people experience "loss of some kind" many times a week.</li>
<li>Are the supporting reasons for the statement clear? While intuition is a powerful source of detecting power, a good detective should at least be able to articulate a reason for a particular assumption. (Ex: "The table seemed weird, perhaps because of the empty space in the middle here. It feels like there should be something there due to the arrangement of the other items.")</li>
</ol>
If the statement is true for many people, discount it. If the statement is unfounded, discount it. <br />
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<b>It's Not Truth-Seeking</b><br />
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Cold-reading is certainly a skill that takes a lot of practice to cultivate. It can be a wonderful means of extracting information when necessary, and tends to create a dramatic flair which so many of us are quite fond of.<br /><br />Sadly, because it lacks the rigor of detection, it cannot be relied upon as a means of advancing one's knowledge, only a means of suggesting new places to look for it.<br /><br />Any method of collecting information that depends for its effectiveness on the receptive nature of its subject cannot accurately be called detection. Perhaps it falls into the purview of interrogation. In any case, cold-reading is less about getting the truth and more about the appearance of doing so.<br />
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Beware fellow detectives of inadvertently saying more than you know. You may appear clever, but it's much harder to improve as a result. Cold-reading allows for a sort of safety-net when making wilder assumptions. We don't need it.<br /><br />This is not meant to be a lecture - I am guilty of relying on a safety-net from time to time as well. It is meant to be a reminder that the truly great detectives don't require one, and that practicing with one is good until it ceases to be helpful.<br /><br />Happy deducing!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-6151201083569178502016-08-17T11:58:00.001-07:002017-01-21T16:27:40.594-07:00Thinking SillySomething that few people know, and even fewer understand, is that memory is a creative act.<br />
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I will be creating two new games in the <i>Training Regimen </i>section of the blog specifically relating to mnemonics and how one can better practice this particular facet of Holmes' character, but for now, let's discuss what, for me, is the most fun facet of memory, and perhaps the Holmesian arts as a whole.<br /><br />I find, as a general rule, that images and sensory experiences that induce noticeable physiological responses are the ones that your brain will most easily hold onto (increased heart rate, laughter, eyes tearing up). But why is that?<br /><br />Your brain evolved over the course of human history to do one thing - keep you alive. In order to do that, it came up with some neat shortcuts. Your long term, association-based memory is one of those shortcuts. Your brain is the most powerful computer in the universe, but why should it have to recalculate the optimal decisions for every situation? Why not use some of that hardware for storing useful information for later?<br /><br />
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Fine. But how does it know what to store? How does it know what's important?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
Actually, the answer to that one is pretty easy - whatever keeps you alive - things that keep you safe, fed, and able to make lots of little versions of you in the future.<br /><br />As such, your brain latches onto some very specific categories of things. You have a built-in GPS so that you can remember where your cave is, where you found those delicious berries yesterday, where you saw that bear so you can keep your distance. You have great face memory, an analog Friends List that helps you to know in a moment when you are in the presence of a threat or an ally. Things that are funny, sexy, and scary all stick in your brain amazingly well because they are all things that your brain already decided were important for one reason or another.<br /><br />The most under-utilized of the above is humor. It's really easy to think of things that scare you, but it's usually quite difficult to take those things and remove them from the scary situation they belong in. It's a little easier for sexy images, but they tend to suffer a similar problem - they seem weird and out of place once you remove the context.</div>
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That's when we begin to notice the evolutionary hack that is humor. Things look silly when they are out of place, in locations and situations they weren't before. A duck isn't particularly funny until you give him a shirt and hat and call him Donald. Neither is a cat chasing a mouse... until the mouse hands the cat a stick of dynamite and flies off in a paper airplane he made himself. It's very easy to think up silly things - just think of a perfectly normal thing and change it until it doesn't quite fit anymore.<br /><br />That, before anything else, is the most important trait you bring to the art of memory. Sure, you have the ability to recognize silliness. But even more importantly, you can make it. You can generate new silly things just by thinking about them and put them wherever you want in that built-in GPS of yours.<br /><br />The best memory technique is one that comes naturally. If it still feels like a device, there's still room for improvement. It has to come organically and naturally, and the most organic way I've ever found is being silly.<br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Reader Challenge:<br /><br />Next time you're out and about, meet some new people. Take their name and do something silly with it. Maybe smash that together with a silly thing you see in their face, or how they smell, or the shirt they are wearing, etc.<br /><br />See how much better it sticks in your head when you're thinking silly.</b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-8224878851517347792016-07-02T17:28:00.004-07:002016-07-02T17:34:34.672-07:00Pegboards - How and When to Use ThemMost
of the mnemonics-related information discussed so far is related to a
particular technique known as a mind/memory palace, journey method, etc.<br />
<br />
Essentially,
it involves taking information, converting it into an image, and
storing that image, usually in a linear manner, in a well-known place in
your mind.<br />
<br />
But what if you don't need a list? What if you need immediate access to information, but don't know exactly which piece?<br />
<br />
Restated
for you computer scientists out there - What if you don't want a linked
list? What if you want an array? What you need is instant access to any
one item, not the ability to iterate through many items.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Introducing... <i>(funny trumpet noise)</i> ...the Pegboard.</div>
<br />
A
pegboard is a method of linking pieces of information without the need
to spacially locate images. The trade-off is that your images typically
need to be WAY more ridiculous than they usually are, as the association
is the only thing keeping it stuck in your brain.<br />
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<b>Okay, but how does it work?</b><br />
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I'm glad you asked, well-timed bold font.<br />
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Let's say you want to be able to remember 3 things. We don't know what they are yet, we just know how many there will be. Let's start by creating some pegs.<br />
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Peg #1, where we will hang our first memory, will take the form of a GIANT foam finger, the kind you see at sporting events.<br />
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Peg #2 will be poop. That's right, poop. A deuce. Number two.<br />
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Peg #3 shall henceforth be a large tree. It can be any tree you want, so long as you can see it in your mind.<br />
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<i>It's important to note here that there's no reason your pegs need to be these images. Anything that provides a reliable association with the numbers will work great.</i><br />
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Now that we have our pegs, let's try remembering some stuff. The first item we will attempt to memorize is a <b>bright green plastic drinking-straw</b>. In order to lock this into our pegboard, we simply combine it with the image for peg #1. For example, I imagined an angry fan getting his coffee spilled at a football game and, as revenge, stabbing the straw through the massive foam finger held by the man who bumped him. Now the straw is poking through the foam finger and maybe even whistling in the breeze a bit.<br />
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The next item we need to remember is a <b>leather briefcase</b>. The scene that pops into my head is one of a snobbish businessman brushing past me on the way to the elevator because he believes that his time is much more important. However, I have acted quickly and have switched his case for an identical one filled with excrement. Just as the elevator doors close, I see the case pop open. The contents spill out and the man is forced to ride up the elevator with a small crowd of people who believe he brings his poop to work.<br />
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I'll leave you to come up with a funny story that explains how item #3, <b>a grand piano</b>, came to be involved with peg #3, a tree. I'm sure it will be wonderful.<br />
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Now, in order to recall the memorized items, we simply need to recall the peg they were stored on, and the ridiculous story we have created will shoot back into the forefront of our mind, filling in the missing information.<br />
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Example:<br />
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"Oh I sure do wish I could recall what item #2 was. I know that peg 2's image was poop, but past that, I'm not sure.... <br />
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Oh! That's right! I put poop in the businessman's <b>leather briefcase</b>!"<br />
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(<i>Giggling fit ensues</i>)</div>
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This technique can be expanded almost infinitely, as it is limited only by the number of pegs you create for yourself. In addition, the pegs themselves do not need to be numbers. They could be letters of the alphabet, names of people on mail slots, evidence tags, etc. Any data that needs to be linked to other information you don't know yet can serve as a peg in a pegboard.<br />
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mnemonic_peg_system" target="_blank">Here's a link to a Wikipedia page on pegboards for further reading.</a><br />
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They go through a slightly longer example, and touch on some of the ideas behind actually choosing peg images, like rhymes.<br />
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Happy memorizing!</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-43878323888739558882016-05-05T15:21:00.001-07:002016-05-05T15:21:44.455-07:00Guess What?<p dir="ltr"><u>We're</u> back, guys.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Now that I'm finally graduating (B.S. in Computer Science), I'm finally free to devote a larger chunk of time to this blog. I intend to get into a good, fairly regular rhythm with the posts, as well as try a couple cool things I've been thinking about while I've been gone.</p>
<p dir="ltr">IN OTHER NEWS:</p>
<p dir="ltr">I was recently contacted by a person who works at a place that is responsible for placing people in front of other people to perform a skill for entertainment purposes (very vague, I know - I will explain more once I verify that I'm not in violation of any agreement to do otherwise).</p>
<p dir="ltr">Essentially, someone was perusing mnemonics-related websites looking for people for a project, and they found the link to my blog! So a huge thank you to everyone who has read the blog, or talked about it, or posted links to it, etc. I'm always surprised to hear when people get a kick out of this blog, as it was initially meant to be a personal experiment. Now that it's apparent that people actually read and enjoy this project, I have even more reason to get it back up and running smoothly.<br></p>
<p dir="ltr">Let's get to work!<br>
</p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-67363324438560772612015-03-05T15:57:00.001-07:002016-07-02T17:35:02.530-07:00Mind Palace - ConversionSo far, we've talked about the basic framework for a mind-palace, and the general idea behind setting one up. Today, we're going to examine what goes in to actually internalizing information in a really concrete way. In order to do that, I thought I'd take you through one of my pet-projects that I work on when I'm bored - memorizing Pi.<br />
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<b>NOTE: </b>This is advanced. If you cannot use your mind palace to remember a shopping list, a list of 20 random words, AND the order of songs on your favorite album first, DO THAT FIRST. THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING. Everything after this will assume you are at a level where you are capable of the above tasks or better.<br />
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Now, since Pi is an infinite non-repeating decimal, you'll never actually be able to get it memorized by virtue of the fact that there's always one more number you haven't stored away (for more information, please Google "Pi"). This element of futility makes Pi an excellent way to "score" your mnemonic prowess. You'll never actually complete the job, but you'll have a number to point to - you'll be able to say, "I've stored X digits of Pi in my mind palace, and I know them backwards and forwards." For me, that number is currently 78. Nothing crazy, but then, I'm not trying to win any competitions.<br />
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In order to memorize something like Pi, which (after you get passed the 3 and decimal point bit) is just a series of numbers, you're going to need to figure out a few things in advance.<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Chunk Size</b> :</li>
<ul>
<li>You're obviously not going to make one gigantic image by just combining all of the numbers together. This is a bad idea for two reasons. The first is that, depending on how you set it up, your image might change dramatically with every new number you add. The second is that even if you didn't hit the first problem, eventually your image would be so complex that you'd be better off just trying to remember the numbers in another way (perhaps a song?).</li>
<li>So what we're going to do is "chunk" the number up into manageable pieces that we can memorize and add to a list. If you're a world champion mnemonist, you may end up using a system that has 9 digit chunks. The system I use has 6 digit chunks (I'll explain why in a bit). If you're a total beginner, you can chunk 1 digit at a time too (of course, if you're a total beginner, perhaps memorizing Pi shouldn't be your first exercise).</li>
</ul>
<li><b>Conversion Method:</b></li>
<ul>
<li>We need to find a way to convert the data we want to remember (strings of numbers) into something our brain can more readily process (sensory-enriched images). So they question is, how do we convert a 6-digit string into an image?</li>
<li>Enter the PAO System (Person, Action, Object). The PAO system is one of the more popular systems for encoding any data that can be "chunked" into 3's. Essentially, we convert the first chunk into an image, the second into an action, and the third into an object to create a little scene which we can place into one of the loci in our mind palace.</li>
<li>But wait, above I said that I use chunks of six digits at a time. Still true. We're just going to use the PAO system to break it down further into chunks of 2. So for the purposes of this memorization exercise, the smallest mnemonic unit we'll be using is a 2-digit number. Sound fair?</li>
</ul>
<li><b>Setup:</b></li>
<ul>
<li>The setup required to create a successful PAO system is a tad daunting. For a 2-digit PAO system, basically you need to think of 100 people - numbered 00-99 - each one of these people has a unique action and object that is associated ONLY with them. They don't have to combine to create a sensible image as long as you can use any one to get back to the number associated with the person.</li>
<ul>
<li><b>Ex1: </b> 14 - Albus Dumbledore, Blackening His Hand, Elder Wand</li>
<li><b>Ex2: </b>15 - Albert Einstein, Writing Equations, Chalkboard</li>
<li><b>Ex3:</b> 92 - Napolean Bonaparte, Posing For A Painting, White Flag</li>
</ul>
<li>The above examples make use of a technique called the Dominic System, which you can feel free to Google at your leisure. Essentially it maps numbers onto letters, turning all 2 digit numbers into sets of initials, which you can use to associate people with numbers.</li>
<li>This is not the only way - feel free to use direct association as well (Ex: "01" could be George Washington).</li>
<li>From there, all you need to know is the location of the number in the chunk. We'll get there.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
Now, once you've got all the legwork done, you're ready to actually memorize the data (I know, so excited).</div>
<ul>
<li><b>Conversion Itself:</b></li>
<ul>
<li>For this, we'll use as our example the very first numbers in Pi. It begins, for those of you who do not know, as 3.141592653589793.......</li>
<li><b>STEP 1: </b>Chunk by 6 - Since I already know Pi begins with a 3 and a decimal point, we'll start just to the right of the decimal. This results in a 6-digit chunk of "141592."</li>
<li><b>STEP 2:</b> Apply the PAO - The PAO System breaks down our chunk into 3 pieces, resulting in "14 / 15 / 92" where the 14 is the person, the 15 is the action, and the 92 is the object.</li>
<li>So "14 / 15 / 92" becomes "Albus Dumbledore / Writing Equations / White Flag."</li>
<li>From there, all you have to do is create a little scene out of the above phrases. For me, it's an image of Albus Dumbledore furiously scribbling equations onto a large white flag, accidentally tearing it in places from his efforts.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
Then, take that image you created and place it in your mind palace. Finally, just repeat the conversion step for every successive chunk of 6 numbers and add the resulting image to the next location in your mind palace.<br /><br />As always, if you have any questions, need some clarification, or just want to add a suggestion, please feel free to leave a comment (or on Tumblr, just PM me). Happy memorizing!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-33487101592346440442015-02-18T11:45:00.000-07:002015-02-18T11:59:42.488-07:00Where to Look - Keys<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Some of the most telling aspects of our appearance are the elements which are common from day to day. A perfect example of one of these elements are our keys. They tell us about our daily routines, our possessions, our level of organization, and the things we don't want to be without.<br />
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For the key ring in the above example, we can make the following deductions (which I will break down below). The subject most likely:<br />
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<ul>
<li>has two primary modes of transportation, a Hyundai car or SUV (pretty sure Hyundai doesn't make non-commercial trucks - an exact model could be determined by visiting a local hardware store and comparing the picture against the key blanks for Hyundai cars) and a bicycle.</li>
<li>is fairly computer savvy.</li>
<li>lives in a gated community or apartment complex.</li>
<li>lost a dog (dead, missing)</li>
<li>stores his/her keys in multiple ways or regularly removes keys from the key-ring</li>
</ul>
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We should all be fairly aware of how to identify car keys at a glance at this point, but just in case, here's a tip - it's the big one. From there, it's a simple matter of recognizing the insignia (which will normally appear on both sides of the key) and going from there. Next, house keys will usually (not always, especially if it is a custom key) have the triangular holes in them like the key in the top left corner of the picture. That leaves two keys (one standard, one weird), a dog-tag, and a flash-drive. The flash-drive is easy - if the subject didn't use it / know how to use it, it wouldn't be in such an easily accessible location. The weird key is for a bike lock (P.S. It would serve you well to know how to identify bike lock keys - I may create a post to this effect at a later date). The dog tag appears to be for a dog named "Sherlock" (great name), and it not being ON the dog would seem to signify that he (probably a he) no longer has need of it.<br />
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Now for the tricky one. We arrive at the final key - a standard silver 5-pin key with "ACE" (name of a hardware store) on it. This would seem to signify that the key was is a copy and was manufactured with a key machine at an ACE hardware. If the key was for a padlock, it would have the brand name of the padlock on it (ex: "Master"), so it can't be that. It can't be a mail key due to the fact that the post-office maintains and distributes the keys to lockable mail-boxes (and therefore would not use ACE to make copies). What does this leave? We know it's a copy, so a logical next question is, "Who has the original?"<br />
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<ul>
<li>A roommate (flatmate) perhaps? But we already have a house key.</li>
<li>A friend/relative - perhaps the subject has been given a spare for surprise visits/emergencies. While possible, the subject would need to visit quite often for that to be the case. In order for such a key to be included on the key-ring, it would have to be more important than a mail key, which is not present on the key-ring. Result - such a key would probably be on a separate (secondary) key-ring with the mail key.</li>
<li>A landlord/property manager? But what key would a landlord need OTHER THAN a house key that a tenant would need as well?</li>
</ul>
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It is also possible that an extra key may mean multiple different locks on a subject's place of residence. For example, one key may be for the deadbolt, the other for the door handle itself. If that were the case here, why would a single subject have the original of one and a copy of the other?</div>
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I submit that the key is for EITHER the main gate to the complex in which the subject lives (if one exists) OR a key to a communal area, such as a shared laundry room.<br />
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If anyone has any more questions about keys/key-rings (in general or specifically), or would like to provide some information, or feel I may have missed something, feel free to leave a comment (Blogger), send me a private message (Tumblr), or drop me an email: everydaydeductionist@gmail.com (either).<br />
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Happy Sleuthing!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-48280722706356704312015-02-02T10:03:00.000-07:002015-02-02T10:03:07.835-07:00New ScheduleSorry friends, the start of the semester has been crazy. In addition to a few other life changes, I will be instituting a new schedule on the blog. Unless otherwise noted, I'll be posting once every two weeks minimum (should be more often). I have also been reading your suggestions and comments which I will be incorporating into these new posts. I'll be posting more "What to Look for," and I will be putting any references I find useful on the blog as well.<br />
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I also will continue to encourage viewer-submitted pictures of desks, rooms, etc. Those can be submitted <a href="http://padlet.com/kadenjtaylor/4kev63ygik" target="_blank">here</a>, or you can attach it to an email to everydaydeductionist@gmail.com. Quick note about submissions - while I think your computer screens are fascinating, they are not the type of thing that I'm going to select. Your computer is configured according to very specific preferences you have. This means that any judgments made according to observations of your computer (particularly a screenshot of the desktop) will be based entirely on things which are completely within your control. In a perfect world, there are no scuffs, dings, scratches, or blood spatter. It is precisely because we live in a perfect world that the art/science of making deductions is possible and useful.<br /><br />With that in mind, happy sleuthing!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-803225082602588642014-12-05T16:32:00.003-07:002014-12-05T16:34:50.664-07:00Reader Challenge!Seeing as I haven't posted one of these in a while, I'd like to give some viewers a chance to make some deductions without offering any assistance or ideas of my own. In order to do that, I've posted a (slightly embarrassing) picture of myself for you all to practice on.<br />
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<b>Challenge:</b> Tell me as much as you can about what is going on in this picture. Use any and all tricks and techniques at your disposal.<br />
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If we don't get enough responses, I may ask a few leading questions to keep it going.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAEBNdXZwu5qBhIfwLqz7CJrdqKkrjL6RvG3ZpnWNXyIZs6n1bbjzJCw1hKnqnZTGQdiodWfRBPWzRLwLH53I0BmVWWTrzlKVrAKzuRq4Mu1wkN7IPJgiM1QCivI-Cxq3tfUnMN22z9ioI/s1600/207238_4328796618834_499003179_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAEBNdXZwu5qBhIfwLqz7CJrdqKkrjL6RvG3ZpnWNXyIZs6n1bbjzJCw1hKnqnZTGQdiodWfRBPWzRLwLH53I0BmVWWTrzlKVrAKzuRq4Mu1wkN7IPJgiM1QCivI-Cxq3tfUnMN22z9ioI/s1600/207238_4328796618834_499003179_n.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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Happy deducing!<br />
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P.S. If you happened to be there at the time this picture was taken (obviously someone was), then please either refrain from commenting, OR be extra careful to support what might be considered unfairly obtained information.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-47054053487559902052014-11-29T22:17:00.002-07:002014-11-29T22:17:38.444-07:00Deduction #8<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn24jyag9EVDnH2_nk7__lcnWGD4crP8Ly5rG8SDootBLmQynbb9t5nbJSV-tfDERDCM9z3og7nJegoPdGVoFaEyXlMIBi-gr_HXhkf3a6OQwcihzAoIhY1O2gqHXg-vQ7-0J9VHvH_ItD/s1600/Deduction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn24jyag9EVDnH2_nk7__lcnWGD4crP8Ly5rG8SDootBLmQynbb9t5nbJSV-tfDERDCM9z3og7nJegoPdGVoFaEyXlMIBi-gr_HXhkf3a6OQwcihzAoIhY1O2gqHXg-vQ7-0J9VHvH_ItD/s1600/Deduction.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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My interests have been piqued, and I'm excited to present a new deduction for you all.<br />
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First, a few more obvious things:<br />
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<li>College student, age consistent with what appears to be my primary demographic</li>
<li>Lives in North America (light sockets are wonderful things)</li>
<li>Dorm resident (I have eyes)</li>
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Statistically speaking, our student is a freshman (dorm resident), but I think this hypothesis is supported by their general lack of "stuff," as well as the presence of brand-new 120 page notebooks.</div>
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Using time-stamps on the picture and the submission website, I can be reasonably certain that our subject resides in the Eastern Time Zone. So far, the area that appears most likely (but only slightly) is near Virginia, as the company whose name appears on the purple and white item on the desk has their headquarters there.</div>
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It appears our subject is also interested in Sociology or is at least enrolled in a class on the subject. It's hard to Google the name "Ritzer," without finding the associated books, one of which is "Essentials of Sociology," which this one appears to be. Based on the complexity of the material, I'd say the book is consistent with our freshman theory.</div>
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Let's talk about the chargers in the power strip. There's an apple charger there, which I believe is likely to belong to someone other than the subject of the picture, as the picture itself was taken with an Android Phone (metadata) and the laptop appears to be a windows machine.<br />
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Okay, time for the desk. Right-handed, tea-not-coffee, weirdness with the green lightbulb in the desk lamp. Subject went out for breakfast prior to taking the picture (breakfast sandwhich?). Right-handed based on mouse and fork. I am interested in the choice of the large mouse-pad, which suggests our subject utilizes the computer for a task for which precise mouse-movement is useful (Photoshop, online gaming, etc.). Key ring has three keys on it, one of which is for the dorm-room door. Of the remaining two, one looks fairly mailboxey, and the other might very well be to an externally facing door, although it's a little unclear. Also, is that a bottle-opener on the other end of that keychain? Finally, I should mention that I'm incredibly flattered by this particular deduction photo, as our subject appears to be perusing my blog whilst taking the picture.<br />
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A few more miscellaneous notes - the computer's shape makes me think gaming PC, as does the cord which appears to facilitate a headset that has an attached microphone. Our subject is fairly neat. The bed is made, the shoes are lined up, and the books/notebooks are stacked. That, plus the blanket on the bed and Christmas lights shifts the balance of probability slightly in the female direction, but then we have the gaming PC, the minimalist key-chain, the shoe size compared to national average (barring any scaling mistakes I made), and the type of shoe shifting it slightly in the male direction. I confess to not being comfortable making a for-sure gender distinction, as the evidence here has more to do with how our subject prefers their room than their gender.<br />
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This brings up an interesting point about this science. Utilizing averages to determine probabilistically who a subject is (gender-wise or otherwise) will work ON AVERAGE. But simply knowing that the average male foot is slightly larger will not tell you who a person is, or even that they are male if all you are going on is their shoe-size. It will only tell you where someone lies on a bell-curve, once we decide which bell curve we are on. So be very careful with these types of conclusions. The solution (almost always) is get more data. After all, we cannot make bricks without clay.<br />
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I'm very interested to see others' opinions on this one, and I can't wait for someone to point out something I may have missed. Happy sleuthing!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-4371657891530745092014-11-22T06:41:00.000-07:002014-11-22T06:41:02.316-07:00A Word About AbductionAbductive reasoning is something that you may not have heard of, but rest assured, of the modes of thought responsible for Sherlock Holmes' brilliance, it is the most important. It combines rigid logical connections of deduction with the fluidity of induction.<br />
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Simply put, abductive reasoning is what Holmes uses to do his thing.<br />
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Holmes is famous for the line, "Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable must be the truth." Strictly speaking, this is true. When one has a set of n possible options, eliminating (n-1) of these options will result in one option remaining. What this phrase fails to take into account is how one actually generates this list of n possible options.<br /><br />The fact is, you CAN'T just make up a list of all of the possible options. Any list of possibilities you can come up with will be incomplete. You can always add things like, "OR, aliens could have abducted him, probed him, then staged his murder to make it LOOK like he was poisoned." There's NO WAY that's what happened, but speaking deductively, you also can't 100% rule it out. That's where abductive reasoning comes in.<br />
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It allows you to gauge possibility in a slightly less rigid way, while still keeping most of the logical progressions we love about deduction. This mode of thought is what allows Sherlock Holmes to generate his list of possible explanations for how the crime may have occurred, after which point he can apply his rigorous logic and his brilliant detective skills to narrow the possibilities down to a single solitary solution.<br />
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How does one apply this reasoning to one's own {cases, life, questions} you ask? Two things above all else benefit a detective in this endeavor - a formidable memory and an abundance of imagination.<br />
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Sherlock Holmes manages to generate possible scenarios so quickly partly due to his vast knowledge of crimes already committed. As he is so fond of saying, "There is nothing new under the sun." Thus, he is able to extrapolate possible means, motives, and even weapons - from crimes of a similar nature which have already happened. When he is not able to find a suitable comparison, his mind searches for new and unexpected ways in which events could have transpired. An excellent way to inspire such strokes of investigatory brilliance is to ask one's self, "What if it didn't happen that way?" or "How could this have been possible given X and Y?" or even "If I were the killer...?"<br />
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Long story short, the abductive way to find the answer is to create a set of possible options, one of which HAS to be the answer, and keep eliminating things until one reaches a solution. It's certainly not glamorous, but damn if it isn't Holmes.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-1577356746168890952014-09-15T22:22:00.000-07:002014-09-15T22:22:04.340-07:00Deduction #7<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Another College Student!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI3-ppQaBRmevMb1pqnTyHYO-OTp0xSsE0N2JM7UNCv0bZ1NL8HOOqnoUJv3Y8iAQGZZxufkxx6YEtRyRrDV7jhJ2yuuNcz43smd8rvG8edO9vxpHuuV09VznkXw4YoVkCcaqoCKq_xcev/s1600/Deduction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI3-ppQaBRmevMb1pqnTyHYO-OTp0xSsE0N2JM7UNCv0bZ1NL8HOOqnoUJv3Y8iAQGZZxufkxx6YEtRyRrDV7jhJ2yuuNcz43smd8rvG8edO9vxpHuuV09VznkXw4YoVkCcaqoCKq_xcev/s1600/Deduction.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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This one was fun. Right off the bat, we have a female subject. Evidently she is quite the bookworm based on the stack of Young Adult novels on the right side of the desk. Next we have her name, Annie, which is written on several of the pieces of paper on the bulletin board running the length of the desk. We could talk about her affinity for horses, or the fact that she seems to be a Vikings fan, or the operating system of her computer (Windows 7 I think), but I think I've found something more interesting. A closer inspection of the lanyards hanging just behind the lamp reveal the logo of UST, a Catholic College in St. Paul, Minnesota. That by itself is not a ton to go on. However, once we add the brand-new student ID (still in sleeve) and what appears to be a welcome packet on the desk, I feel quite safe in assuming that you are an incoming Freshman at the school.<br />
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Now that we know a little about the who, let's talk about where. Given previous information, we should answer the question of whether this picture was taken in a dorm room. I'm confident it was not. The layout of the room (lamp reflection) suggest single-occupant bedroom. Not only that, but this picture was sent to me about a month ago, a full 10 days before you could have moved in. Based on a few quick statistics from UST's website, I conclude that you most likely are staying in a dorm the first year.<br />
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Now for the fun part. The picture was taken with an Apple Device (Ipad) which, as we know from previous deductions, has a nasty habit of encoding GPS data into its pictures. Without going into too much detail, I was able to get a pretty good lock on your location at the time the picture was taken. This type of information would allow someone to, oh I don't know, find the Facebook page for the incoming freshman class of UST, search for the name "Annie," and narrow the search by hometown. Upon doing that, one would discover that you ARE in fact staying in a dorm (the exact one will not be mentioned), and that you were at one point engaged in the process of searching for a flatmate in true Sherlockian fashion. If the cup in your room (reflection in picture frame) is any indication, you must be quite happy about the number and proximity of Arby's at your new location in the dorms.<br />
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Happy sleuthing!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-86126952777051562592014-08-16T12:55:00.000-07:002014-08-16T12:55:00.566-07:0010,000We did it! Ladies an gentlemen, the blogger version of my blog (the original, pre-Tumblr version) has reached over 10,000 views! This is a huge milestone for me, and it has renewed my motivation to continue the experiment and help others improve their deduction/induction/memory skills.<br />
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Thanks to everyone who has commented, submitted pictures for practice, and suggested ideas for posts, and practiced along with me! Keep it up!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-56595532382873175192014-08-12T19:21:00.003-07:002014-08-12T19:21:32.963-07:00Deduction #6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Another two-for-one!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlWNrewjEbaNl-ciN8KlDaOIsNAFuX85CR6-kXEPq3feSSVwnWgn_oBEoRVlwK_v2n2cdEMVlFnurUEyk_m-VAomGrZTMNyFd53DrTxn091BnuvFURk7DOzCJ11NoezHWmblY4u_ER-uj/s1600/Room1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlWNrewjEbaNl-ciN8KlDaOIsNAFuX85CR6-kXEPq3feSSVwnWgn_oBEoRVlwK_v2n2cdEMVlFnurUEyk_m-VAomGrZTMNyFd53DrTxn091BnuvFURk7DOzCJ11NoezHWmblY4u_ER-uj/s1600/Room1.jpeg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Number one - how do we know that these were taken by the same person? Just in case the lighting, decor, and wall coloring were not enough to convince you, we also have the metadata from the picture to confirm that the photos were taken at approximately the same time by the same phone (which by the way was an Iphone 5s) (See a fun little computer trick).<br />
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Another interesting thing about this picture's metadata is that it contains some very specific GPS data which supposedly marks the location the picture was taken. Unfortunately, plugging in the data verbatim yields a location somewhere is Kazakhstan, which worried me greatly as there was nothing in the pictures to suggest that as a viable location. In fact, the many English book titles along with the dollar bill attached to your desk might seem to suggest that you live in America. Further exploration of the metadata shows us that the pictures were taken at approximately 11:25 am, but submitted to Padlet about 3 hours <i>prior </i>at about 8:35. If we assume it took about 10 minutes for you to upload the pictures (which I feel is a reasonable assumption given all the data), then via this method we can safely say that you fall into the Eastern Time Zone.<br />
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Needless to say I was quite confused about your location. Especially after I noticed that the bottom left corner of your mathematics textbook on the desk. "Chapitre 3." Not a phrase you'd expect on the East Coast of the United States. But it did give me something to go on. Either the girl to whom this room belongs is home-schooled by french parents OR the language of the area in which she lives is French. If we assume the second, then certain parts of Canada meet 2 of the 3 location stipulations - must be in Eastern Time Zone, and must speak French and English fairly commonly. The only outlier seems to be the GPS coordinates. After considering the options, I decided that the balance of probability rested with the notion that somehow the GPS data must be wrong. So I set out to find out HOW wrong.<br />
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As it turns out, when Iphone pictures are transferred, either through certain apps or image editing software, the GPS data is altered, resulting in the + and - signs being cut off the front. For those of you unfamiliar with latitude and longitude measurements, the signs allows the reader to ascertain which hemisphere will be used. Without them, the numbers in the GPS field could refer to exactly 4 locations in the world. (++, --, +-, -+). After looking at the possible locations, I found that one of them is a house in Montreal.<br />
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https://www.google.com/maps/@45.5,-73.8,10z<br />
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In the interest of not giving away this person's address, I've truncated the data so as not to deliver such a precise location.<br />
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Now onto the fun stuff.<br />
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Tentatively, I'm going to say we have a fairly well-rounded, bi-lingual, christian, right-handed female near her early teens with medium to long hair, living in an upper middle class household.<br />
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Well rounded based on the piano, soccer ball and packaged assumption that she's either a fan or a player (admittedly weak), and all of the books with titles in two languages (bi-lingual). The religious pictures on the top left part of the book shelf (combined with an over 80% Christian population in Montreal) says Christian. Right-handed because the notebook and pen are placed to the right of the textbook, and all of the writing utensils on the desk are to the right side. Female should be a pretty easy one at this point. We've got the shoe and dress on the desk shelf, various figurines on the bookshelf, and a hair clip on the desk top. Speaking of the hair clip - we can eliminate excessively short hair cuts as our subject would have little use for this type of clip. Upper middle class household based partly on the style of the bookshelves, the price of the matching sets of the various book series, and the local neighborhood property values (easier to find when you have the subject's location).<br />
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The only one I'm not super comfortable with is the age of the subject. I managed to find that textbook online, and it appears to be for cycle 1 of the secondary education program in Canada, which I believe equates to upper middle school/ early high school in the USA. In addition, the books on the shelf (the ones I recognize) are young adult titles (Ex: Hunger Games, Caster Chronicles). But something seems off. Either this room has been recently cleaned, the age of the subject is actually higher than I suspected, or this is one organized teenager.<br />
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My big question is this - "What is written on that dollar bill?"<br /><br />If you have any questions, critiques, or violent disagreements, please comment or send me a message. If these are your pictures, please respond and let me know how I did, and be sure to clear up any mistakes I may have made.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-60216499427220423092014-08-02T21:17:00.002-07:002016-07-02T17:35:02.528-07:00Mind Palace - OrganizationHey guys. Since my last post, I've been hard at work tweaking my mind palace so that it functions at its maximum potential. in light of that, I'm going to do some more posts on how to organize and maximize the efficiency of your mind palace.<br />
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For those of you looking for an update, I've now permanently stored the following data in my memory palace:<br />
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<li>The order of the U.S. Presidents (and some of the vice presidents... still in progress)</li>
<li>Rudyard Kipling's poem, "If"</li>
<li>An excerpt from "Hunting Season" by Beau Taplin</li>
<li>The name and year of every movie to win an Academy Award for Best Picture</li>
<li>A few debit card numbers (mine, that is)</li>
<li>The order of a specific deck of playing cards (used for magic tricks)</li>
<li>All of the locations of the above data relative to my mind palace</li>
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If the last bullet point seems a little circular, rest assured that it's not. It IS, however, what I would like to discuss with you today.<br />
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<b>(Warning: Meta-Thinking Paragraph Ahead)</b><br />
You see, having a lot of knowledge and being able to utilize it are two completely different concepts. While having a functional memory palace in which to store specific types of information can be / is incredibly useful, it's only useful insofar as you remember where you put everything. In other words, you can <i>know</i> <i>that</i> you know who the 19th president was, but until you actually go into your palace and pull Rutherford B. Hayes out, you don't actually know who the 19th president was. If someone came up to you and asked what data you've put away in your mind palace, how would you go about answering their question? In short, while it is very easy to know things, soon one discovers that the harder problem is actually to know what you know.<br />
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This is one of the main problems with utilizing the memory palace method to permanently store lots of information - no doubt something Sherlock Holmes would have had to deal with fairly early on in his exploits. Rest assured, there is a solution. For the purposes of this post, we're going to refer to it as <i>The Index</i>. Thus far, I have experimented with 2 variations which we'll call <i>web </i>and <i>map indexing</i>.<br />
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<b>What is an index?</b><br /><br />If you've ever been to a library, you should know the answer to this question. An index is a system of organization, usually taking the form of a list (often alphabetized). How does this apply to us? The short version is this - we're going to make a mind palace containing everything we know, AND where to find it.<br />
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<b>The Web:</b><br />
In experimenting with the <i>web index</i>, I created a small room (think elementary school classroom) and painted the walls all different colors and lined them with bookshelves of different kinds and various decorations so that no two walls were even remotely similar. On the bookshelves, I placed tiny trinkets - things that would remind me of the specific information stored within them - as well as a reminder of the location where the information was stored. (Ex: A picture of President Obama standing in front of my old home would tell me that the U.S. presidents were stored in that home.) I had one trinket for every chunk of information I had logged away. One problem I ran into with this method was that it quickly became difficult to store information, especially literature, on the bookshelf with other similar data. In order to fix this issue, I would recommend creating tiny rooms hidden behind the bookshelves to serve as the set of <i>loci</i> (Latin word for locations) rather than the bookshelf itself. The method functions like a web in that while there are no expressly visualized pathways to your various mind palaces, they ARE connected through your trinkets, making each trinket a vital link to the information you want to remember.<br />
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<b>The Map:</b><br />
The thing about <i>map indexing</i> is that it doesn't actually exist. Sure, I gave a name to the concept, but the essential bit here is that we're just making a bigger mind palace. Rather, we are combining all of our existing mind palaces into one gigantic cobbled together neighborhood of mind palaces. For a more in-depth look at this idea, check out "The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci" by Johnathan D. Spence. Old-school mnemonists used to use city blocks, or whole cities, as mind palaces, making the amount of information you can store as large as the city in which you stored it. Then, we can rename houses, blocks, or even streets to segment the data you are storing (Ex: The "head trauma" room in the "Emergency Medicine" house on "Science Street"). The tricky thing about this method is that in order to effectively use such a large area, one must be either very familiar with the area or very willing to make up a lot of the missing details on their own. One more difficulty is that even if you use a neighborhood you know well, odds are that you don't know the layouts of all the houses. But really, there's no reason to use <i>those </i>houses, is there? One could simply use the layout of an old neighborhood and plant all of the houses one has known or lived in to create a new neighborhood full of memory storage space.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-18682764427352429532014-07-02T10:47:00.003-07:002016-07-02T17:35:02.521-07:00Mind Palace - Putting it Into PracticePreviously, we've discussed the basic structure of a mind palace and what it's used for. Today, I'm going to discuss some basic encoding methods, and the building blocks for creating your own.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">But first, a little history...</span><br /><br />The practice of using a person's visual/spatial memory to organize non-visual non-spatial data has been around since the ancient Greeks. In its simplest terms, a Mind Palace utilizes images to organize and store information for later retrieval. The ancient Greeks and Romans used this system, also called the method of loci (meaning places/locations), for remembering anything from names of soldiers to important speeches. In fact, the expression "in the first place" refers to the technique of placing talking points in a mind palace (First thing you want to say goes in the first place in your mind palace). The method of loci was also used very often for everyday knowledge - something that, today, you could simply look up in a book. The first "books" were more like very lengthy scrolls with no chapter headings, page numbers, and little to no spacing or punctuation. This meant that in order to efficiently use a book as a reference, much of the organizational data would have to be stored in one's own head. Today, there is less of a need for a mind palace, but it can still be a useful technique for reliably internalizing everything from a list of names to a phone number to a shuffled pack of playing cards. A detective today using a mind palace filled with crime solving information would be able to have infinitely more data at his fingertips without the dependance on technological devices to access the information he needed.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Now for encoding....</span><br />
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The first thing you need to remember about encoding data into a mind palace is that it's not an exact science by any means. There are an infinite number of ways to encode information, and very little information can be coded verbatim. Mind palaces are most useful when the data can be easily broken down, only the general idea is important, or you're working with small, simple data to begin with. Rest assured, any data can be encoded, but not all data can be encoded quickly. As there is no one-hundred-percent right way to encode data for use in a mind palace, I'm just going to give you a few rules of thumb which have served me (and several unnamed international memory champions) quite well.<br />
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<ul>
<li> <b>Make it Simple:</b></li>
<ul>
<li>Most of the time, a person who uses a mind palace won't be remembering anything much more complicated than a shopping list. It's important to remember that less really is more. There's no point in telling yourself a long story to remember every single thing - you might as well just memorize the list by reading it over and over again. A good rule of thumb is that whenever you're trying to remember a list of distinct objects, simply place comically large versions of the objects in various loci in your mind palace (Ex: eggs, cheese, and fruit can code to a giant egg on your porch, a huge wheel of cheese on your couch, and a massive fruit basket on your bed).</li>
</ul>
<li><b>Use Relationships:</b></li>
<ul>
<li>Sometimes, you'll be at loss for what images to place in your mind. My advice to you is to quickly think about things which are related to the item you wish to memorize, and use those instead. As an example, let's say your girlfriend gives you a list of things to pick up - one of these things is hummus. You don't know how to visualize hummus - but you know that it falls into the category of Greek food. Instead of trying in vain to place hummus in your mind palace, you place a Greek temple filled with food in there instead. This will remind you that you are looking for a Greek food item, which will send you back to hummus.</li>
</ul>
<li><b>Homophones are Your Friends</b></li>
<ul>
<li>In a pinch, words that sound similar may also be substituted quite easily, leading to quicker and easier memory storage. A great way to think about this technique is to imagine trying to memorize a list of names of people you've never met. Let's say one of the names on that list is "Kanasha". If you're like me, this doesn't evoke any useful images right off the bat. What I would do in this situation is visualize a few old people sitting around a table playing Canasta (if you don't know what that is either, then you may want to find a different image), and use that.</li>
</ul>
<li><b>More than Just Your Eyes</b></li>
<ul>
<li>In the case that you find yourself working with kind of a vague image, remember - YOU HAVE 5 USEABLE SENSES. You're not limited to just your eyes. You can also use touch, taste, smell, and hearing to enhance the images you've placed. Let's say you don't have a very specific idea about what a tuna looks like. You know it's a fish, but beyond that, you're lost. You do, however, know what canned tuna smells like. Why not imagine a sort of generic fish, then add in the idea that it smells like a tuna sandwich? Bingo.</li>
</ul>
<li><b>Make it Weird</b></li>
<ul>
<li>Nothing hurts a mind palace more than banality. If you want to remember things, for the love of all things cold and rational MAKE THEM MEMORABLE. Think of it as if you were telling yourself a story as you walk through your mind palace. It'll be much easier to recall if you know that it's Darth Vader is waiting for you down the hall as and not your old boss from the previous year (unless you had a really exciting boss). As a general rule, make your images as large, crazy, wacky, lewd, crude, or otherwise weird as you can. You're brain is hardwired to remember those things BETTER, LONGER, and EASIER.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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If you're interested in continuing your education in the area of mind palaces and tricks involved, I highly recommend reading Josh Foer's book <u>Moonwalking with Einstein</u>. It's an excellent read and is invaluable in expanding one's knowledge of the mind's potential (not to mention, it's where I learned much of what I know about these techniques).<br />
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As always, I appreciate your input. Your feedback is incredibly valuable to me. If there's ever a topic you don't understand, something you need clarified, or you'd like to suggest an idea for a post - send in a comment or drop me a message and I'll do my very best to help. Happy memorizing!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-61015210065858150902014-06-30T19:01:00.001-07:002014-06-30T19:01:54.860-07:00Training Regimen Available!It is my great pleasure to tell you that I have begun posting the exact training regimen which I use, rather than vaguely alluding to it as I have been. I will be adding more training games as we go, but the two that are up at this point are the most fundamental to the training process.<br />
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If you're viewing this on Tumblr, you may also reach the training regimen page through <a href="http://everydaydeductionist.blogspot.com/p/training-regimen.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here.</a><br />
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If you've never tried any of the deductive exercises in the past, I highly recommend you give this a shot. It starts off slow, but it can be surprisingly fun.<br />
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I hope you find these exercises as helpful as I do, and I hope you enjoy training with me!<br />
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Again, here's the link to the page ---> <a href="http://everydaydeductionist.blogspot.com/p/training-regimen.html" target="_blank">Training Exercises</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-76675299039251596172014-06-29T20:53:00.001-07:002014-07-02T10:48:50.088-07:00Where to Look - Hands<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUpv8aiQgdnR5oZGizxUOEDMa-FpCGfi-HMmrSygKjPVH3iJg0STYKZAiY1lTwpop_n3TE-YyT2bV5aMJ1ohhcvufDVykWBEGTStHIjHzOJ-DYgtQRDAEGE6Pa0F7Ko0BPs5QlrAo67bm/s1600/IMG_20140629_191838_370.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUpv8aiQgdnR5oZGizxUOEDMa-FpCGfi-HMmrSygKjPVH3iJg0STYKZAiY1lTwpop_n3TE-YyT2bV5aMJ1ohhcvufDVykWBEGTStHIjHzOJ-DYgtQRDAEGE6Pa0F7Ko0BPs5QlrAo67bm/s1600/IMG_20140629_191838_370.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisB2MAtCOEbRr4Cce-r9DtAg6b4OdyEsyPhQIKi1sEJZumpuFKIKK6-u_SSRhplskGMAMYKIMl25Gvp-wW4ujwyqotDlRDVhRCdUxhiyDk1ImHV7u5Q1AyQ4oXQdDOv1W5UoIGg0dUw4KE/s1600/IMG_20140629_192032_669.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisB2MAtCOEbRr4Cce-r9DtAg6b4OdyEsyPhQIKi1sEJZumpuFKIKK6-u_SSRhplskGMAMYKIMl25Gvp-wW4ujwyqotDlRDVhRCdUxhiyDk1ImHV7u5Q1AyQ4oXQdDOv1W5UoIGg0dUw4KE/s1600/IMG_20140629_192032_669.jpg" height="320" width="180" /> </a></div>
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A) Left Palm B) Right Palm</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIhfN2NJTLIEmUWmbJLROt5yGCBeU2h4BVw_IpSumGSegorg6fn85v0xzUPgiOK8eQUtpdPG4n-sT5u-vHEZEa7ynO0Yh2Q5MoGgK5Oj4CacTlbDkc6E_KmrYNDerGBitdJm0YJgejieO_/s1600/IMG_20140629_192323_629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIhfN2NJTLIEmUWmbJLROt5yGCBeU2h4BVw_IpSumGSegorg6fn85v0xzUPgiOK8eQUtpdPG4n-sT5u-vHEZEa7ynO0Yh2Q5MoGgK5Oj4CacTlbDkc6E_KmrYNDerGBitdJm0YJgejieO_/s1600/IMG_20140629_192323_629.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFhCylUneIulghCijqsPdoNXPob55XRHCzcdX0SiqR4BIr9eAonFM3TXEn-OnnDQLdiV7m0OfQQFuQCLXLXhTx4EHTgVURjHAmEBn3sPMIXAeR5g51V-U0fGqvaB8d578RHsb8Ujl9nAU/s1600/IMG_20140629_192152_922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFhCylUneIulghCijqsPdoNXPob55XRHCzcdX0SiqR4BIr9eAonFM3TXEn-OnnDQLdiV7m0OfQQFuQCLXLXhTx4EHTgVURjHAmEBn3sPMIXAeR5g51V-U0fGqvaB8d578RHsb8Ujl9nAU/s1600/IMG_20140629_192152_922.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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D) Right Back</div>
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A person's hands tell us a lot about them. What they do,where they've been, how they act, and what they're feeling - all fair game if you know what to look for. Today, we'll be examining a pair of hands, and the conclusions one may draw from them.<br />
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C) Left Back <br />
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<u><b>Gender </b></u>- There are very few reasons why gender must be deduced from someone's hands alone (perhaps only their hands are in view in an important photograph). That being said, it may still be useful to you down the road. For starters, look at their choice of watch - this person chose a definitively masculine watch. This preference, in addition to the hand-dryness (seen on palms), the state of their cuticles (seen on backs), and the scars from cuts (right palm and right back) push the balance of probability towards male. Keep in mind, as with all of our deductive exercises, we are rarely 100% certain - we deal in probabilities. In this case, the odds are clearly in favor of the gender being male.<br />
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<b><u>Handedness</u></b> - This is a much more regularly useful deduction to make. The first thing we can look for is, again, the watch. Most of the time, right-handed individuals will wear their watch on their left hand, as it tends to get in the way when they write. This statistic is not as strong in left-handed people, due mostly to the fact that the widely accepted "correct" way to wear a watch is on the left hand. Still, a watch on the right and is a good indication of left-handedness, and vice versa. Other things to be aware of are the scars on the right hand. This would seem to indicate right-handedness in the same way that a worn out tire would suggest more use than one with a lot of tread.<br />
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<b><u>Habits</u></b> - Zooming in on the fingernails would show no jagged edges. Do not make the mistake of blindly assuming this person doesn't bite their nails. Indeed they might. The only thing this tells us it that they have not very recently (within a day or two).<br />
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A look at their fingertips, when examined closely, show a discrepancy between the amount of skin on each finger. Notice that on the right hand, the fingerprints are easily visible, whereas on the left, the skin seems smoother and shinier. This would indicate that the subject performs an activity which regularly removes surface skin from the fingertips of only one hand. This would be a great time to ask if the subject plays guitar, or perhaps the violin. A yes to either question would give us more evidence that the subject is right handed, as the finger positions on either instrument are usually performed by the non-dominant hand.<br />
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Another interesting place to look is the pinkie nail on either hand. Having a longer-than-average nail on the little finger is an interesting observation in that it is a potential indicator of many different things. One fairly benign option is that it is used to clean out the ear and/or nose quickly and discretely. On the other end of the scale, it is used by some as a convenient place for resting certain powder-esque drugs before snorting them up one's nose. And somewhere in the middle, some cultures view a long pinkie nail as a sign of wealth or social status. Be careful, for nothing conclusive may be said about this observation without further evidence.<br />
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<b><u>Random Deductions:</u></b><br />
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While many of the following facts may not present a solid conclusion one way or the other, remember that in day to day deductions, you are not limited to just someone's hands. The following list is simply to get you thinking about things which you may be able to confirm either by asking or deducing from further details.<br />
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<ul>
<li><b>Military Experience </b>- on a digital watch, you may notice that the time is set to 24 hour format. This is a great way to shift the balance of probability toward or away from military experience. Military time is an odd system to have to get used to, and most people don't unless they have a reason.</li>
<li><b>Income</b> - Notice the watch (brand, material it is made of, number of scratches, etc.). This can help to narrow down someone's income. Be wary - many people give watches as gifts, so this may not be a sure-fire indicator. </li>
<li><b>Recent Reading/Writing</b> - Look for ink stains/smudges on the fingertips and the palm-heels (area above the wrist opposite the thumb). This may give an indication that your subject has been writing/drawing/reading a newspaper recently.</li>
<li><b>Beyond Ink</b> - Be on the lookout for any odd discoloration as a result of grease, stamps, etc. which can tell you a lot about your subject's recent activities (Ex: half washed off stamp could mean they went to a club the night before).</li>
<li><b>Fear/Temperature</b> - The color of the skin on your subjects hand can tell you if they are scared or simply cold. In both situations, the body pulls blood away from the skin and sends it to the vital organs and major muscle groups. This will result in the person's hands looking paler and feeling colder. To decide whether your subject is scared or cold, try shaking hands with them early on to establish a control.</li>
<li><b>Diet</b> - Trembling hands can be a symptom of a fight-or-flight response, not eating enough, or a reaction to a stimulant (caffeine for example). Be sure to check for additional details before assuming they're starving themselves.</li>
<li><strong>Rings</strong> - Rings are about commitment. Obviously, a ring
on the left hand ring finger tells you who they’re committed to. While
some rings are worn for fashion or sentimental reasons, be on the
lookout for promise rings, engagement rings, or class rings, which you
can use to narrow down where they’ve been. </li>
</ul>
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I hope you enjoyed the first of many "Where to Look" posts. As always, if you have any comments or questions about anything on the blog, be sure to comment or send me a message. Your feedback is important and much appreciated. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-6614464886165610032014-06-22T16:53:00.001-07:002014-06-22T17:28:30.501-07:00Deduction #5<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<img src="http://38.media.tumblr.com/d62c059d567d609341ec318d6c623a8f/tumblr_n7lgva2jyo1tf9ix3o1_1280.jpg" style="max-width: 586px;" /><br />
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New deduction practice! This time, I’m going to turn it over to you. In the comments section, post your conclusions AND the observations that led you there. You must defend your choices. Deduce as much as you can about this person (I’ll jump in if necessary). Good luck!<br />
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Better quality version of this picture available <a href="http://d20uo2axdbh83k.cloudfront.net/20140623/431c837057cdb6efe16a2ffb88380038.jpg" target="_blank">here.</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-19530047650135001012014-06-22T16:20:00.003-07:002014-06-22T16:32:21.958-07:00Tumblr Joins the FunLadies and gents, this is to let you know that from now on, everydaydeductionist will be available on both Blogger and Tumblr. This is in an effort (mostly) to get a few more viewer submissions and, let's face it - more viewers. So, with that in mind....<br />
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If you're reading this on blogger, feel free to go about your business. You may want to check out the parallel version on Tumblr (<a href="http://everydaydeductionist.tumblr.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">everydaydeductionist.tumblr.com</a>) just to see if you like the look of it better, but for the most part, nothing's going to change.<br />
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However, should you be reading this via Tumblr, rest assured that I'll be working to migrate the older posts over as soon as possible. From now on, both blogs will post simultaneously. For now, feel free to check out www.everydaydeductionist.blogspot.com for previously posted info, deduction practice, and access to the training regimen I discuss.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-20050878338785845412014-06-07T22:47:00.002-07:002014-07-02T10:48:05.829-07:00The Differential Diagnosis....aaaaand we're back folks!<br />
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My sincerest apologies for being gone for so long. School got a little hectic and this got away from me. Now that summer's officially begun, I thought I'd begin anew with a fresh perspective on the science/art I've been discussing thus far.<br />
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One of my favorite shows of late has been House M.D.. For those of you unaware, Dr. Gregory House is the medical version of Sherlock Holmes. He uses the rules of logic in combination with his astute observations to diagnose patients who have other doctors stumped. This has led me to another interesting way in which to view deductive exercises.<br />
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For the foreseeable future, I'll be attempting to cast a medical light on my deductions. The reason for this is incredibly simple - the act of deducing someone's personality, their recent whereabouts, their career, etc. can all be boiled down to a differential diagnosis.<br />
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Here's an example to illustrate my point: <br />
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<b>Elimination:</b><br />
Let's say you see a man in a suit walking into a hotel. Our job is to deduce his career. If we are viewing this exercise as a differential diagnosis, it may first be helpful to get an idea of what he is not, thereby excluding several incorrect guesses before they're made. "Construction worker," for example, while still potentially possible, is definitely not high on the list. We can begin to set aside careers like school principal and restaurant manager - jobs which do not require much movement outside their place of business. Keep in mind that we do not yet have enough information to completely exclude those options, although we can label them as "less-than-likely."<br />
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<b>Symptoms:</b> <br />
Now we need to build a list of other observations (symptoms). Closer inspection reveals that the man is wearing cufflinks. This is sufficient to eliminate most if not all of the employees at the hotel - a uniform would not include cufflinks. This means that if the man works for the hotel, he is probably upper management or some other salary position. Furthermore, the man is wearing a bluetooth device suggesting that he is frequently on the phone. Finally, you notice that the briefcase he is carrying is a bit deeper than average. While you're not sure what to do with information, you believe it is a clue to determining the contents. <b> </b><br />
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<b>Patient History</b>:<br />
It is at this point we can borrow from the medical line of thinking and get a patient history - did the man come from his car? Which door did he enter? Was he greeted by anyone? If so, how? If the man's car is out on the hotel driveway, he's probably a guest using the valet (upper management would have parked in a more permanent location). If the man was greeted by the doorman with a cheerful, "Welcome, first time guest!" Then we have our answer right there.<br />
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<b>Tests:</b><br />
Let's assume that the doorman ignored the man entirely, and his car is nowhere to be seen. He could still be a guest at the hotel, which would leave quite a bit of wiggle-room in our diagnosis. Let's run a test. One of the most important things to remember about tests (medically and deductively) is that you should first form a hypothesis for testing - you need to have an idea of what you want to find out. In this case, we want to determine whether the man works at the hotel. An easy way to do that is ask him a question a guest would probably not know the answer to. (Ex: "Excuse me, how many rooms does this hotel have?") If the man answers immediately, we can infer that he works at the hotel, and is responsible for running the hotel, or perhaps in a non-customer service department (accounting).<br />
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<b>Time:</b><br />
Let's assume that our test was negative - the man has no idea how many rooms the hotel has. This means that it's very likely he's a guest. It is at this point we can use one of the most valuable tools to both deductionists and doctors alike - time. In many cases, the best thing to do is wait for new observations (symptoms) to present themselves. Let's say that after a few seconds, another man walks into the hotel and you observe a meeting between your subject and this new man. They greet each other with a handshake and our subject tells his associate his room number and hands him a business card. Now we can be sure that he's a guest. Furthermore, you can begin to form the strong hypothesis that he's here on business. Now all that's left to do is determine what business. Finally, as the men sit down at a nearby table, you see the subject reach into his briefcase and hand the other man one of many small rectangular cardboard boxes inside. The man turns it over, and you see the label - it's some sort of medication.<br />
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<b>The Whiteboard:</b><br />
There's nothing wrong with writing your ideas down. Even if you choose not to, you should be trying to maintain two separate lists.t <b> </b>One list contains the information you've gathered (symptoms,
strange behaviors, environmental information which might be relevant).
The other list is your "top 5." This is a constantly changing list of
possible explanations for the observations you've made. In a medical scenario, this would be a list of the most likely diseases causing the symptoms. In this example, this would be a list of professions which your subject might have. The list does not have to contain exactly 5 options (in fact, the more the merrier). The important thing is that you're updating it with every new piece of information you get.<br />
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Putting it all together, we have a man who carries medication in his larger-than-average briefcase, may travel occasionally for work, is frequently on the phone, meets his clients one-on-one, and by the state of his cufflinks and suit, appears to be doing well for himself.<br />
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One very likely diagnosis is that the man is a pharmaceutical representative - someone whose job is to introduce prescription medications to doctors or even hospital administrators by handing out samples. The other man could be a doctor who may eventually prescribe this medication. A test for this hypothesis my simply be to ask him if he is indeed a drug rep, or any other question which, if answered correctly, would confirm your choice.<br />
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I hope you enjoyed this post, and there will be many more. For the most part I will post with the same regularity which I had prior to my break. As always, feel free to submit photos of people and places for deduction exercises.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-4019227819135251542014-03-14T11:29:00.001-07:002016-07-02T17:35:02.524-07:00Mind Palace - A How ToWelcome back. Using a mind palace to store information is a bit like tricking your brain into working like a computer. In order to create a mind palace which will function effectively, you're going to need three things. You'll need a place, data, and an encoding method. Your place is a bit like a hard drive - it's the place where all the data goes. More importantly, it's the place where all the data is stored, waiting for you to need it, at which point the data will be right there where you left it. The data is a little trickier to think about - it's anything. Absolutely anything that you need to remember can be data (phone numbers, playing cards, people's names, etc.). And how will you remember it? You'll need an encoding method. If your place is your hard drive, your encoding method is your software. It's what allows your to translate the data into something that your brain (hard drive) can understand and store away for later.<br />
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1) <b>A Palace</b> - A mind palace is a place. It can be any place you'd like (your house, your friend's house, your work, even your city). It can even be made up (although I'd advise using "real" places until you've got some practice in). The important thing is that the place does not change - it could be sunny, rainy, whatever - but the building itself, the architecture, does not change. This is very important, primarily because you will be "filling" your place with things, and those things WILL change. It's best to have some element of constancy to anchor the variable things on. Finally, you need to pick a route within your mind palace - a specific path you follow when walking through. It doesn't always have to be the same route every time, but when storing/recalling the same set of data, you must walk along the same route. This will become more clear as we go on. I'll post some more tips on optimizing the efficiency of your mind palace once we have a good understanding of how to use one.<br />
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2) <b>Data</b> - In order to store data in a mind palace, you'll need to figure out exactly what it is you are storing. Typically, you'll want to avoid storing multiple kinds of data in the same mind palace (there's no law against having multiple palaces - in fact, it's highly encouraged). In my first experience using a mind palace, I was memorizing a shopping list full of random items. I've since used it to remember a deck of playing cards in order, a list of names of people I'd never met, and even a list of landmarks in ancient Rome for a quick cramming session. The reason I'm telling you this is so that you understand the importance of <i>knowing your data</i>. you can't remember something you've never seen. You have to hear, see, touch, taste, or smell it. You can't memorize a shopping list that you can't read. Make sense?<br />
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3) <b>Encoding Method - </b>This is the crux of the mind palace. This is how you turn your hard-to-memorize data into something your brain can use. In order to do this, we'll be converting all of your data (names, numbers, playing cards) into images. Those images will then be "placed" in your mind palace, just like we did in <i>Part 1</i> of this topic. Then, by walking through your mind palace along your pre-defined route, you can remember which images you placed where, which will then be decoded into the data you originally stored. How do we decide which images to use? The secret - it's all about using your imagination. Your brain very efficiently processes and stores very specific kinds of information - the funnier, weirder, and (in some cases) sexual your images are, the easier it will be for your brain to remember them. For example, in order to remember that the first thing you need to do in your day is call Peggy, you might imagine a pirate with a wooden peg-leg yelling into a cell phone. It sounds silly, but it gets the point across.<br />
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To demonstrate, let me take you back over the mind palace we created in the introduction.<br />
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We started at the front door, where we found a doll-house, which reminded me to tell you that you need a place to store the images. Then, we step inside to find a giant playing card with things written on it, which reminds me to tell you about the kinds of data you can store in a mind palace, and give you some examples of what you can use it for. Then, as we get into the next room, we see the bank of computers with the large flash drive - this is the part where I talk about the encoding method, which converts images into things that your brain remembers better. The other two images refer to the science of mind palaces, and remind me to tell you about where they came from (history). They also remind me to talk about how to maximize the efficiency of your own mind palace, and the different encoding methods you can use.<br /><br />But that's for another post. Later!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-36307784096940507462014-02-26T13:12:00.000-07:002014-03-02T05:13:54.979-07:00Deduction #4<div style="text-align: center;">
This deduction marks an important milestone for this blog.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOan9vzVeB3549cCbJIIWha4Vgo5Z1MwzHfvX7jX8-rq2C-wulbXofj8bvuUhGC1gzAx8Ij8qJVC0K4ETxTQol9qhIZFWI_DrNy3vGoOOa6gmD36m9V8MM1dd4t6dcqtu2ehc5GjDq9TR/s1600/UK_Deduction.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOan9vzVeB3549cCbJIIWha4Vgo5Z1MwzHfvX7jX8-rq2C-wulbXofj8bvuUhGC1gzAx8Ij8qJVC0K4ETxTQol9qhIZFWI_DrNy3vGoOOa6gmD36m9V8MM1dd4t6dcqtu2ehc5GjDq9TR/s1600/UK_Deduction.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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I learned quite a few things from this picture. Most of them were not facts about the owner of the bookshelf, but creative ways of finding information and, more importantly, confirming it.</div>
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For starters, I am a huge Dan Brown fan. In fact, I own all of his novels. The thing is, I didn't recognize the ones on your shelf - at least I didn't at first. That's not the American cover art. Based on that, and the AA driving manual/practice book, I feel same in assuming that you are the first non-American to submit a picture to my blog, and for that I am immensely grateful. Add the interesting fact that the picture arrived on the submission page approximately 7 hours after it was taken (time zone difference), and I deduce that you live in the UK (the Doctor Who books helped too).</div>
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Next, let's narrow down physically who you are. I'm operating under the assumption that you are male based on your interest in role-playing games (bottom shelf on the left), your music (metal, if I'm not mistaken), and your ownership of lighter fluid and accessories for a bee-bee gun. That being said, you could also be a statistically uncommon female, but the balance of probability says otherwise. You are almost certainly Caucasian (30 SPF sunblock in the UK), and you are a swimmer( although whether it's for a club, your school, etc. - I cannot be sure).</div>
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Based on your literary interests and the books referencing eating on a budget, student cooking, etc., I'm placing your age somewhere in the university range. It's likely that you live in a small apartment/flat (terminology is fun) for two reasons: The first is that, while I am unfamiliar with dorm living over there, I would assume that bringing your own bookshelf is hard to do. The second is your bike pump. There are many places where a person with a lot of space to work with could keep a bike pump - the top of a bookshelf doesn't seem like one of them.</div>
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You are interested in computers (potentially a university major), puzzle solving, and different methods of thinking (explaining your participation in the blog). You enjoy mysteries, and figuring things out firsthand. </div>
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Finally, I have some questions. Are you a magician? That seems to be a lot of decks of cards, even for someone who plays table-games. What in the world is that green slime-looking stuff in the small bucket?</div>
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Thanks for submitting! I await your response!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-85157615373589932652014-02-26T11:40:00.001-07:002016-07-02T17:35:02.534-07:00Mind Palace - IntroductionOkay, it's time - I've been putting this off for a while because quite frankly, I'm terrified of underselling such a valuable concept. In this three-part set of posts, we're going to discuss the Holmesian (actually ancient Greek) technique of remembering absolutely anything, for any length of time, limited only by the power of your imagination.<br />
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But before we do that, I have to tell you a story:<br />
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Stop what you are doing. Close your eyes and imagine yourself standing at your front door. Yes, of your house. I don't care which house, where it is, or when you lived there - it just has to be a place you remember well. I'm serious. In order for this to work, you have to trust me a little bit.<br />
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Now, standing between you and your front door, I want you to imagine a dollhouse. It can be whatever color, size, shape, or level of decadence you desire. But a dollhouse. Don't laugh, just imagine it. Right there on your doormat. See it.<br />
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Now, open your front door, and imagine walking two steps into whatever room is there, when you come face to face with a giant playing card - I mean huge. Whatever card you like, just make it gigantic - floor to ceiling. On this card, there's a ton of what looks like graffiti. You can see paint dripping - it's fresh. You can smell it as it dries. Upon closer inspection, you notice that the graffiti is actually words and numbers (names, definitions, phone numbers, somebody's social security #). Got it, good.<br />
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Next, move to the next room, which is now completely full of computers - maybe wall-to-wall WWII machines, all feeding into a massive flash-drive which sits at the end of the banks of computers.<br />
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Keep walking. Next room. You could be in your kitchen, living room, bathroom, etc. Just be sure it's set up as though you're actually walking through your house. You don't want to be teleporting between rooms. If you are out of space, walk back and go another way (no need to change what we've already done). That being said, in the next room, put a stack of books. In keeping with our theme, make this a massive stack of books. Not just ordinary books - old books. Ancient, dusty tomes as thick as your head. Something you'd see in some thousand-year-old library.<br />
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And finally, walk into what will be the final room on your walk through your house. In it, be sure to imagine a giant brain. Maybe in a glass tank, hooked up to a bunch of electrodes, even perhaps floating in some mysterious liquid.<br />
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Now, what I'd like you to do is walk back. Take the little walk that we've just taken in reverse. Go from the brain, back to the giant stack of giant books, through the room with the computers, back to graffiti-covered playing card, and finally out your front door, almost tripping over the dollhouse on the doormat. Then walk it again. This time, walk through as though you're seeing the house for the first time. Be sure to notice the large and strange things that you've placed in the different rooms. You should find it pretty easy to remember which things you placed in which room as long as you <i>see them</i> as opposed to just trying to recall them.<br />
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That example may not make a ton of sense right this second, but for now, suffice it to say that you've just stored some very specific information in a mind palace.<br />
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Tune in soon for<i> Part 2</i>, where we'll discuss exactly HOW this works. I'll show you as best I can the techniques that make the above story make sense, and allow you to construct your own mind palace and fill it with whatever you need to know.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-58725792367816824652014-02-24T01:08:00.001-07:002014-02-25T12:58:24.488-07:00Deduction #3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We're getting a two-for-one today, children.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4fy6WYPHU4OeFdjT9Hwf2kmj_imSUashGmBVOphLcWNfnvL8Ay8wlDz9e6O-tfcNo1HeXYzouSebK9zoAae8OZInYo_t6dubnwv2H8AOEC020VU9PE1autargyEaog4tIXN02algApomT/s1600/New_deduction2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4fy6WYPHU4OeFdjT9Hwf2kmj_imSUashGmBVOphLcWNfnvL8Ay8wlDz9e6O-tfcNo1HeXYzouSebK9zoAae8OZInYo_t6dubnwv2H8AOEC020VU9PE1autargyEaog4tIXN02algApomT/s1600/New_deduction2.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqNOU9AHuxcyyJO7JegFDktmDqvy-X4vBatdyBKdBkxD0Ej9LpVMuv9rHb96chi2EaevbqtV23yOcSTDdZ046TggyvqE_hhz7XAFiwLW_TMRDKitUoMjR2USv6bmcM0JIsN5KLa8998YP-/s1600/New_deduction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqNOU9AHuxcyyJO7JegFDktmDqvy-X4vBatdyBKdBkxD0Ej9LpVMuv9rHb96chi2EaevbqtV23yOcSTDdZ046TggyvqE_hhz7XAFiwLW_TMRDKitUoMjR2USv6bmcM0JIsN5KLa8998YP-/s1600/New_deduction.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></div>
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Okay, <b>step one</b> - how do we know these pictures were taken by the same person? Well, <a href="http://everydaydeductionist.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-fun-little-computer-trick.html" target="_blank">a fun little computer trick</a> tells us that these pictures were not only taken within the same 3 minutes of each other, but by the same model phone (Samsung Galaxy, and if I'm not mistaken, the AT&T version).<br />
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<b>Step two</b> - let's take a look at this bookshelf. Almost all of the books are about psychology in some shape or form, but let's go a bit further. Too many books for a hobby, or even a college major. This is a career. This person does psychology for a living - most likely a psychotherapist specializing in attachment based on the really official-looking books near the bottom of the shelf. Moreover, this person is interested in getting multiple perspectives on the mind from a wide variety of sources. Many of the books on the upper part of the shelf were written by philosophers of the mind, investigating everything from how the brain processes time to self-awareness and mindfulness. Our subject is not unwilling to go to the eastern hemisphere for another perspective, bringing a nice balance to their field of study - ironic, considering the symbolic significance of the statue of the Nataraja (Shiva in the form of the Cosmic Dancer) on the upper left part of the shelf. Do you meditate? The above details would suggest feelings that the current view of psychology is very incomplete, and also a level of curiosity not bounded by conventional thought patterns. We have a thinker in our midst, ladies and gentlemen.<br />
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Okay, so now we know what this person does for a living, and a little bit about their feelings on their field of study. Now onto...<br />
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<b>Step three</b> - The living room. Right off the bat, I think our subject has a dog based on the couch cover and the large wall-mounted picture. They are also remarkably aware of world-culture for the typical American (If you're not sure how we know the subject is in America, check their wall socket.). Over on the mantle, we see a few artifacts including what appears to be a bronze Buddha. She (for I think the subject is female based on the patterned couch pillows) may likely be shorter than average, as all of the tables, even the running table on the wall are what I, at 5'11'', would consider fairly low. We also see that the books from earlier aren't just for show - there are lamps everywhere. She reads a lot, and she reads for fun. Finally, I'd say the house was built circa the 1980's, judging by the painted brick fireplace.<br />
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<b>Parting questions</b> - What sort of work were you doing on the wall? Did you paint the picture? How about the light switch hidden amongst your many books?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7882144954250115286.post-28386673073712577792014-02-17T14:43:00.001-07:002014-07-02T10:48:33.842-07:00A Fun Little Computer Trick...This one's for those of you who are looking at the previous deductions and thinking, "Man, I got just about everything on there EXCEPT I have no idea how he figured out what camera he used."<br />
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I'll tell you, but I guarantee you - it's not as cool as you think.<br />
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Picture files contain quite a bit of information - besides the visual information, that is. As it turns out, some of that information pertains to the origins of the picture. In other words, in most cases, a picture file KNOWS where it came from. So all a curious person has to do is save the picture, right click on it, and find that wonderful little tab called "properties."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzjD3I_Hv-pHrjLmoYqt-aMlB8VtAyZ3nL322xHQQwufSjrujAR7R6YrXPu4kXE9BP4Gqn_In46ixmGUK0lSsh8ngpw3KR-6OhGdNL3z511e3ZfwSNhgda-e14LJog1mU-2kxL_sFFeSBW/s1600/testshot.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzjD3I_Hv-pHrjLmoYqt-aMlB8VtAyZ3nL322xHQQwufSjrujAR7R6YrXPu4kXE9BP4Gqn_In46ixmGUK0lSsh8ngpw3KR-6OhGdNL3z511e3ZfwSNhgda-e14LJog1mU-2kxL_sFFeSBW/s1600/testshot.PNG" height="271" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now, its' a fairly simple matter to scroll down to the part that contains information about the camera which took the picture.</div>
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But that's not all. Play around with it yourself. You may be surprised at what you find.</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05494555481031396486noreply@blogger.com3