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42 open experiments

Experiments.

Each one is based on published research and takes a few rounds; most last two or three minutes. At the end you compare your answer with the crowd and read the science behind the finding. Play again as often as you like.

EXP. 022 · Memory

Digit memory

The digits flash by one at a time. How many can you type back without mixing up the order, and how many are left when you type them in reverse?

3 min0 responses
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EXP. 027 · Logic

Four cards

Four cards, one rule. In psychology's most famous logic puzzle, most people turn over the wrong cards; but move the same logic into a bar scene and things change.

3 min0 responses
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EXP. 037 · Hearing

Match the pitch

First measure the smallest pitch difference you can hear between two tones, then match five tones by ear after a short silence. Headphones recommended.

3 min0 responses
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EXP. 038 · Color memory

Remember the color

Hold a full-screen color in mind for three seconds, then rebuild it with hue, saturation and brightness sliders. Where does memory shift the color?

2 min0 responses
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EXP. 039 · Time perception

Hold the time

The screen fills with color from the bottom up; then it is your turn: lift your finger the moment you think the same time has passed. Across five durations, do you stretch the short ones and shorten the long ones?

2 min0 responses
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EXP. 040 · Visual memory

Rebuild the shape

A shape appears on the screen for 2.5 seconds and disappears; you rebuild it in the same place, at the same angle and the same size. Where does memory pull angles, sizes and positions?

2 min0 responses
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EXP. 041 · Location memory

Remember the spot

Three colored dots appear and disappear one by one; then you tap where each one was. Where does your memory shift the dots: toward the middle of the circle's quadrants, toward the center, or toward the edge?

2 min0 responses
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EXP. 042 · Visual memory

Fix the pattern

Study the grid, then after a brief blank screen find the tiles that moved and put them back. No color disappears, only what is where changes; how well can your memory keep track of it?

3 min0 responses
No one has played yet
EXP. 043 · Crowd perception

The color of the crowd

Eight colored circles arranged in a ring appear for one second and disappear. Sometimes we ask for the average color of the set, sometimes for the color of a single circle. How does your visual system summarize a crowd?

2 min0 responses
No one has played yet
EXP. 021 · Memory

Visual memory

Nine squares, one flashing sequence. When you memorize places instead of digits, how many steps can your memory carry?

3 min1 response
Responses so far: 1
EXP. 024 · Attention

Find the target

Some targets pop out of the crowd; others have to be searched for one by one. Measure the speed and limits of your visual search.

2 min1 response
Responses so far: 1
EXP. 025 · Number sense

How many dots?

We see three dots at a glance, but we estimate thirty. Measure how many you can count at a glance and how far off your estimates are.

2 min1 response
Responses so far: 1
EXP. 026 · Confidence

How sure are you?

Ten questions, and for each one a lower and upper bound you are 90 percent sure about. We measure not what you know, but how well you know what you don't know.

4 min1 response
Responses so far: 1
EXP. 029 · Social perception

How many people are like you?

Tea or coffee, sea or mountains? Six choices and one question: are there as many people who think like you as you assume? Try the false consensus effect on yourself.

2 min1 response
Responses so far: 1
EXP. 036 · Color perception

Find the odd shade

First measure your hue and lightness thresholds in ΔE, then in level mode the grid grows while the difference shrinks: how many levels can you clear?

3 min1 response
Responses so far: 1
EXP. 016 · Spatial thinking

Mirror or not?

The more a letter tilts, the more your mind seems to actually turn it. How fast do you rotate letters, shapes, and images under time pressure?

2 min2 responses
Responses so far: 2
EXP. 017 · Strategy

Two-thirds of the average

Everyone picks a number, and the winner is whoever comes closest to two-thirds of the average. The real question: how many steps ahead is everyone else thinking?

2 min2 responses
Responses so far: 2
EXP. 023 · Attention

Spot the change

The scene flickers back and forth; the difference is right in front of you, yet seeing it can sometimes take half a minute. Try change blindness for yourself.

2 min2 responses
Responses so far: 2
EXP. 009 · Randomness

Heads or tails: can you be random?

Being random looks easy, but whether people are imitating coin flips or predicting them, they almost always leave the same fingerprint.

3 min3 responses
Responses so far: 3
EXP. 013 · Thinking

The bat and the ball

Seven questions that look easy. The real trap is that they look easy.

3 min3 responses
Responses so far: 3
EXP. 007 · Attention

Name the color, not the word

Stopping yourself from reading is harder than you think: your brain has already read the word, whether you want it to or not. What changes when you flip the task, and when you race the clock?

2 min5 responses
Responses so far: 5
EXP. 008 · Reaction

How fast are you?

There is a gap between the moment your eye sees something and the moment your finger moves, and it grows as the options multiply. But can you stop yourself when you need to?

2 min5 responses
Responses so far: 5
EXP. 010 · Visual illusion

Which line is longer?

Matching two lines looks easy, until arrowheads, rails, and surrounding circles get involved. We measure how much your eyes are fooled in four illusions.

2 min5 responses
Responses so far: 5
EXP. 011 · Probability

The Linda problem

Linda, Bill, and a health survey: across four short scenarios, will your intuition win, or the simplest rule of probability?

2 min7 responses
Responses so far: 7
EXP. 004 · Time perception

Feel 10 seconds

How precise is your inner clock? Try to hit 10, 3 and 20 seconds without counting, then keep a one-per-second beat, and see whether your error grows with the duration.

2 min8 responses
Responses so far: 8
EXP. 006 · Estimation

How many candies are in the jar?

On its own, your guess is probably off; but what happens when hundreds of guesses come together? And does changing your mind after seeing the crowd actually help?

2 min8 responses
Responses so far: 8