Is the Magic 8 Ball accurate?

[Richard Purdy]

If you really set the intention and asked this toy a question would you get a definitive answer? 

[VeganAwake]

I'm not sure but fortune cookies never lie or leave you craving a sweet treat after supper ? 

❤ 

[Leo Gura]

Why don't you ask it?

[mmKay]

2 hours ago, Richard Purdy said:

If you really set the intention and asked this toy a question would you get a definitive answer? 

 

[UnbornTao]

It's a toy.

[ZzzleepingBear]

11 hours ago, Aleister Crowleyy said:

Locked for low quality

*Breaks open the thread again because of low quality lock*

[Yarco]

On the surface this seems like a really dumb question. But the answer must be yes.

People use tea leaves, pendulums, ouija boards made by Parker Bros, mass-produced tarot cards, and all kinds of stuff for divination.

Stuff like tarot cards don't have any innate spiritual power until you put it into them yourself. You can do the same with an 8 ball.

[Adodd]

3 hours ago, Yarco said:

On the surface this seems like a really dumb question. But the answer must be yes.

People use tea leaves, pendulums, ouija boards made by Parker Bros, mass-produced tarot cards, and all kinds of stuff for divination.

Stuff like tarot cards don't have any innate spiritual power until you put it into them yourself. You can do the same with an 8 ball.

@Yarco And how do you know that these all work? Id say people try to use all of kinds of silly things. That hardly means they all work. 

People get results from things like tarot cards because they use them to set intentions. That doesn't mean tarot cards are magic it means setting intentions work . And that's not what he asked. He asked if a toy will give him a definitive answer to his questions.

On 5/21/2022 at 5:07 AM, UnbornTao said:

It's a toy.

 

[Yarco]

It's possible that none of them work. In my worldview/understanding of how tarot cards function, then if any of the items I listed work, then all of them work. Because it would be the same mechanism of action behind all of them.

It's like how you can put life into a puppet. It doesn't matter the form or shape of a puppet, you can use any puppet in a similar way, and it's always the same force behind the puppet.

If you're a skeptic or think that tarot cards are just about setting intentions, then yeah, none of them work. If you think they're tapping into something higher they work. It's possible for tarot cards to both simultaneously work and not work. Or to work for some people but not others. Or to work for two different people in unique ways.

If you think a forked stick or a couple of straightened coat hangers can be used to locate underground water (dowsing) then they can. If you don't believe it's possible, then they can't. Although some things like dowsing I would say are strong enough to override doubt and will often work even for skeptics.

I think the same thing is working behind the scenes of dowsing rods or tarot cards. From a totally non-spiritual non-paranormal perspective you could say it's the human unconscious. I think things like magic 8 balls can tap into the human unconscious or a higher source in the same way. The difference is that a magic 8 ball is a much more limited tool, so it's more likely to give false or vague readings. Half the sides of a magic 8 ball are super vague or "try again" statements.

You can do divination with just a coin and heads/tails. But the problem is you lack all nuance. Saying something is true or false or giving you a yes/no answer is something, but you lose all the possible technicalities or risks associated with it.

Or you can decide that none of it works and ignore all of it. 

[Adodd]

1 hour ago, Yarco said:

If you're a skeptic or think that tarot cards are just about setting intentions, then yeah, none of them work. If you think they're tapping into something higher they work. It's possible for tarot cards to both simultaneously work and not work. Or to work for some people but not others. Or to work for two different people in unique ways.

If you think a forked stick or a couple of straightened coat hangers can be used to locate underground water (dowsing) then they can. If you don't believe it's possible, then they can't. Although some things like dowsing I would say are strong enough to override doubt and will often work even for skeptics.

I think the same thing is working behind the scenes of dowsing rods or tarot cards. From a totally non-spiritual non-paranormal perspective you could say it's the human unconscious. I think things like magic 8 balls can tap into the human unconscious or a higher source in the same way. The difference is that a magic 8 ball is a much more limited tool, so it's more likely to give false or vague readings. Half the sides of a magic 8 ball are super vague or "try again" statements.

@Yarco You have fair points but I still don't quite agree. I wouldn't say that things like magic 8 balls work for some people and not for others. Regardless of how they feel about it its dynamics are the same. It doesn't work for either type of person. One person may say that the magic 8 ball DOES work and when something happens that 8 ball says will happen they will say "Wow the 8 ball DOES work for me! I believed in it being true and something happened that verifies that." But that hardly makes them right just because they believe it. From my perspective it doesn't mean that the answer they received was "true". I don't think the objects are tapping into anything higher but I think the person is tapping into something higher and falsely attributing that to these items that they have built a belief around. Its easy to find connections to ANYTHING if you look hard enough or want them to be there, this happens all the time with religions. People will pray to Jesus for something they are working on and focused on everyday and when they get it they will immediately dismiss the idea that THEY did by working on it and instead insist that it was just all Jesus. Doesn't mean its true just because they believe that. Going off of that same principle I would answer the original question with a solid "no". Can he use the magic 8ball as a belief that he uses? Sure, but why not just skip the 8 ball altogether and give yourself the power?

There's also a HUGE possibility that I'm totally wrong and just being closed off to the idea by being overly skeptical/rational. This is something I'm actually working on.?

Edited May 22, 2022 by Adodd

[ZzzleepingBear]

@Adodd @Yarco  Guys guys let's stop messing around here in alright? If we want to settle any disagreements, then I think it's time to bring out the...

 

Magic 8 ball:-)

[Yarco]

1 minute ago, ZzzleepingBear said:

@Adodd @Yarco  Guys guys let's stop messing around here in alright? If we want to settle any disagreements, then I think it's time to bring out the...

 

Magic 8 ball:-)

[UnbornTao]

@Yarco the ball has spoken!

Haha

[Adodd]

1 hour ago, ZzzleepingBear said:

@Adodd @Yarco  Guys guys let's stop messing around here in alright? If we want to settle any disagreements, then I think it's time to bring out the...

 

Magic 8 ball:-)

Hmm. Looks to be time for a new post titled "is magic eightball self biased?" only once we understand the implications of magic eightball's own self biases can we have true scientific debate on its sovereignty.

[ZzzleepingBear]

@Yarco @Adodd All we need now is another Magic 8 ball to confirm that this one don't lie to us

Edited May 22, 2022 by ZzzleepingBear