Ouija Boards, real or fake?

Hi RAXMAN,

I tried the site. It got the first three questions I tried wrong. Then I asked it "Is this rubbish" and got a reply of "Yes"

OK, it got it right on the first or second try.   Now how do we know that there are not 13 to 26 other people out there who got the wrong letter, and they DIDNT write in to this forum to tell us about that?

It's a nice script.  It's a little disappointing, however, that "What is stacked atop my monitor?" returns "Future Hazy".  The correct answer is, of course, wheelbarrow tires.

As for real Ouija boards... sorry, no supernatural forces at work here.

I wasn't really asking if the board was real or not based on that link. I'm asking about real life boards.

Are they real or just one big joke?

If they ARE A JOKE, then HOW DO THEY WORK?

The Ouijia Board is sorta of a spiritually board.

I will explain the Asian Version call the "Coin/Bowl Deity"

This "game" require three players. The setting of the "game" is similar to Oujia Board. the different between the two is that the pointer is replace by  a coin or a bowl. The word "Ouijia" is replace by "Home". The three player (preferable two male and a female to balance the yin-yang) put their index finger on the coin/bowl and request audience with the coin/bowl deity by calling out "Coin/Bowl Deity, Coin/Bowl Deity, We seek you audience" three times. The first question normally ask is usually, "Coin/Bowl Deity, are you here". The answer will be a yes and you can proceed to start the game.
To end the game, just request the deity to go home, and to confirm that, ask "Are you still here" the answer should remain at the home word.

Point to note: This coin/bowl deity, is not a deity but a nearby spirit. As the spirit is of yin element. the above recommendation of player ( 2 male, 1 female) balance out.

Taboo:
Do not ask anything regarding the deity. etc, How you die, how old are you, where are you. are you male or female.
Do not leave you finger away in the middle of the game at all time until the deity had left.

Recommendation:
Play at home as the spirit at home are of family members/relatives in comparision with vicious ones outside.

BTW, the non-compliance of the taboo is only one consequnce : DEATH!!!

Take Care.

OK, then, um,  what's the deal with this?

http://mr-31238.mr.valuehost.co.uk/assets/Flash/psychic.swf

Hey Raxman, the ouija board thing kind of depends on wether or not you believe in the after life or spirits and the like.  Basicly the pointer is moved by a spirit that has been invited into your home.  I think placing your fingers on the edge of the pointer is nessesary to provide some additional "energy" so the spirit can move the pointer.  As far as the board and pointer, they are just a piece of cardboard and a piece of plastic.  They are just a way for the spirit to communicate with the living.------ I guess.  I have never "played" ouija before so can't say from expirience.  It is up to you to decide if you are talking to a real spirit or not.

As far as the link in your question, that is just a computer program that has a list of vague canned answers made  to appear as if they are reading your thoughts or something.

The deal with that is simple.

A two digit number (tn) in the decimal system is represented in place-value by a number of tens (t) and a number of ones (n).  The value of the number is given by the formula:  (10 * t) + n

If you add the digits together, you get another number whose value is (t + n).

If you subtract that value from the original number, you get:  ((10 * t) + n) - (t + n)
which you can algebraically simplify to (9 * t).  We can see, thus, that the number will be a multiple of 9.

Try it:  47 - (4 + 7) = 47 - 11 = 36 == (9 * 4)

If you examine the list of symbols, you'll notice that for each value that is a multiple of 9, the sun symbol appears.  And clicking on the globe...

Mysterious.

I do not know what controls the pointer... I do agree its pretty wierd, the "ouija" board has dated back for many years... one thing that puzzles me though is... Milton Bradley made one as well ...that you can buy at any Toy Store

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000524NG/ghostvillagecom/102-8767740-0164918

Ouija boards move because they are set up to move with the slightest touch.

Check http://www.skepdic.com/ouija.html for more info.

You can also see if you can figure out the psychic software at http://www.cyberglass.co.uk/FlashEx/mindreader.html . Let me assure you that there's nothing psychic about it, just *very* simple maths!

Ahh... the exact same flash game from above.  It actually mixes it up a little, so the symbol you get isn't the same every time.  However, the explanation above is still true: every multiple of 9 you can get has the same symbol.

Got it in one, whisperer

Fake, just a game.  I do not believe in spirits only because I have never seen one.  Altho I have tried...

ouija boards are fake and i can prove it.
get your friends together and ask it some questions, if you know the answers, you'll notice that you get them right
         this is because you are moving the piece whether you try to or not.
now have your mom or dad ask it a question like "birthday of one of there siblings", see where it goes and then ask them if
         it's correct.  you'll notice that it never is.  if you don't know the answer, you won't get the answer. PERIOD

"ouija boards are fake and i can prove it.
get your friends together and ask it some questions, if you know the answers, you'll notice that you get them right
        this is because you are moving the piece whether you try to or not.
now have your mom or dad ask it a question like "birthday of one of there siblings", see where it goes and then ask them if
        it's correct.  you'll notice that it never is.  if you don't know the answer, you won't get the answer. PERIOD "

That's what I thought also. It's easy to call it a fake and drop the whole subject because we don't know how to explain how the board is working.

Explain how the board predicts the future then.

One of my friends asked the board if he was going to his girlfriend's house the next day to hang out, but the board said he wasn't. He was sure he was going because they were "sopose" to hang out for the holiday.

When the next game came around, he didn't go to his girlfriend's house because he was called in to work.

Explain how this works.

There is such a thing as coincidence, and there is also the human habit of noticing coincidences, but failing to record it when nothing special happens.

Take lotteries. Your (or anyone else's) chance of winning is millions to one. When you win it's really special, but when you don't it's just a normal day and you never remember it.

When you say "Explain how this works", you may as well try to explain why Joe down the street won the lottery.

Remember, coincidences WILL happen, I can guarantee that.

if you ask the board a (yes/no) question, it's going to be right 50% of the time.  that's just statistics.  if you ask it a (yes/no) question that you're "positive" is yes, you're going to be wrong occassionaly (there are no guarantees in life).  if the ouija board just happens to have "predicted" that, that's mere coincidence.

unless of course you're friend had reason to believe he might have been called into work, which was why he was asking the question in the first place.  (Why didn't he ask if the sun would rise tomorrow?) if he had reason to believe that he might not be going, i have every reason to believe that he could have "subconsciously" moved the piece.

which takes me back to my previous point.  ask it a question that there is no way you know the answer to (that isn't yes/no) like the birthdate of a parent's relative (while they're present so they can confirm or contradict).  since the ouija board will have to pick 4 numbers (only 2 if you count 19XX) you're not going to be correct very often

What if there were no hypothetical situations?

what if the sun doesn't come up tomorrow?

who cares about "What if"

the sun will come up and there IS hypothetical situations

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=rhetorical

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=inconsequential

Boards are real. For sure. I knocked on one, anyway, and it sure sounded like wood.

i think someone pushs it but the dont know the are pushing it

> Are they real or just one big hoax?

Whether a hoax or not depends upon your expectations and uses of it. If you treat as game, but with serious respect, it can be enjoyable.

RAXMAN, do you have any intention of closing this thread anytime soon?

The magic eight ball (even though it's purple and has a question mark instead of an "8") says: "Not a Chance."

Bradley

>Are they real or just one big hoax?

Why not ask the board itself? "Are you for real or just a hoax"

As an additional test, ask the board to predict ten coin tosses in a row.

I'd just like to point out that the "magic eight ball's" response was to philjones85's question.  :)

Bradley

HEHE, and we all know the magic 8 ball is never wrong...

just a thought....Why do the spirits of the dead have nothing better to do than to answer your lame questions by pushing around a piece of wood on a board in your house?

Maybe there are things that can't be explained by empirical proof, or a mathematical equation?  Or rather, we haven't figured out a way of proving these things, so we twist our current ideas of reality to fit? Either way, it's somewhat arrogant to assume you know the answer to something you don't actually have a clue about - whatever it is you believe must be true!

Phil157...where to begin???...where to begin???

Maybe there are things that can't be explained by empirical proof or mathematical equation, but that approach is such a cop-out for people trying to sell BS.

I didn't say I knew the answer re: Ouija Boards, but I am saying no proponents of Ouija Boards have ever presented one COMPELLING shred of proof that it is not BS.  Yes, and while "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence", the inability to provide anything other than your belief that they works does say something (and it isn't good for Ouija Boards).

"whatever it is you believe must be true" - God, I hope you're being sarcastic!  What if I believe you're an idiot?  It must be true!  

People used to believe the sun circled the earth; news flash - WRONG!

mgeiser

I'm sorry you didn't read my post correctly!  I meant that whether you believe Ouija boards work, or not, it's arrogant to assume that what you think is correct, when there is no proof.

Ouija boards are definitely crap and I CAN PROVE it.  Ask it a question that you don't know the answer to (not yes or no) and you will be wrong 100% of the time.  Of course you'll have to have somebody there that knows the answer that isn't moving the piece to verify the answer.

For instance, ask it what year your Aunt was born and then call your mom or dad and ask.  I'm betting you don't get it right.

...hmmm...if you're guessing at a yes/no answer, I suspect you will be wrong 50% of the time...if you were wrong 100% I suspect that you'd be proving that it did work and that the yes/no spaces were reversed...  ;-)

It is actually very easy to "prove beyond a resaonable doubt" that Ouija boards are crap.  Penn and Teller have a GREAT segment on their Showtime series Bullsh*t! that you have to see on Ouija Boards.

P&T got their Ouija board people together.  After the subject used the board for awhile, the people were blindfolded.  Once blindfolded, the Ouija Board was rotated 180 degrees unknown to the subjects.  Guess what? the planchet (sp?) still went to where the Yes/No were BEFORE the board was moved.  I guess the spirits were also blindfolded?

i specifically said "NOT YES OR NO"

The question was already answered. After I asked this question, a friend and I took a book and randomly opened it to a page and put it face down on the floor without eaither of us looking at it and we put it behind us so we could not see the book, then we asked the spirits what page it was on. It got it wrong just about every time and then we also asked it what the first word was on the first page and it then again got it wrong every time.

boo

boo?  Can I get a Boo-ya?  (What can I say?  My daughter has me hooked on KP.  That Shego is a HOTTIE!!!)

"Oh my God, Brian!  There's a message in my Alpha-Bits!  It says, 'Oooooooo!'"

"Those aren't Alpha-Bits, Peter.  Those are Cheerios."

when i was a kid i had a weegie board and the ghosts name was azo  he told me all sorts of things that were going to happen

i have no interest in debating whether or not they really have spirits ... but it sure scared the heebie jeebies outta me at the time

Just asked a Quija board if it was fake. It ansewered 'Yes' and dissolved into thin air.
So there you go, straight from the horses mouth.