Twenty Questions

This is one of those blogs where I share something and then talk about it. My daughter was talking about a Twenty Questions game that was really intuitive and thorogh in its questioning. She was playing a handheld version of the technology from 20Q.net. (I do not recommend the flashy 20Q.com version.)

The game does a great job of guessing objects like nose, guitar string, chalk, shoe lace, and oak tree. I guess the hand-held version encapsulates a static copy of the network knowledge. The web version does learn, and it has moderators to keep people from loading the knowledge base with junk. I tried teaching it "guitar effects pedal." Maybe after a day or so I should try that one again.

When I have played this game in the past, we usually played the version where you have to guess people. One of the funniest times that I had with this was around 1979. I was with 5-6 people and my brother said "Alright, I am thinking of someone." Before using up any questions, I blurted out "Shaun Cassidy!" I stunned my brother, because this was indeed who he had thought of. (Shaun is the lesser-known half-brother of David Cassidy, if that helps any.)

--gh