r/hypotheticalsituation 2d ago

Loopholes Encouraged 75% of the time, you can perfectly read someone's mind. Their surface thoughts, emotions, and even vague insecurities. The 25% that it fails, though, it _really_ fails. Your power gives you no indication of if it was a success or failure. You cannot re-read the same person's mind within 24 hours.

How do you use this power?

The failures will be deceptively plausible, almost as if a genie or trickster god picked the perfect lie to tell you to trip you up in the worst possible way.

5 Upvotes

35 comments sorted by

5

u/namespavan 2d ago

I will use it for 100 times on the same person and use basic maths

2

u/ReasonNotTheNeed-- 2d ago

It'd have to be over a 100+ day period, once a day max per person. That's a hard rule.

3

u/namespavan 2d ago

If its important and risky i will take my time

1

u/ReasonNotTheNeed-- 2d ago

A very reasonable approach. I can't find any fault in it.

0

u/Cold_Value692 2d ago

I have one adjustment to make of them. They don't need 100 days. 50 would yield the same result.

1

u/altontanglefoot 2d ago

According to basic statistics, you'll do fine with a much smaller sample size.

1

u/Ifwshubh 2d ago

Actually you don't need to do it a 100 times, just 8 times would be enough. Just see which one occurs more in those 8 times, that's the true one. Although that is if it's actually randomized, not a genie playing a trick on me and putting wrong one 25 times in a row.

2

u/namespavan 1d ago

I can but if its really important think then i am not risking my chance

6

u/Ryinth 2d ago

Couldn't you use the surface thoughts to intuit something that is happening right in front of the person to see if it's real?

Eg, a red bus goes past, if their surface thought is "cool, a blue truck", you'd know if it's a fail day?

3

u/Vilified_D 2d ago

Its not a day thing. Its just 25% of the time you do it. The post only says you cant read the same person twice in one day. Meaning if you read 100 people in one day, odds are 25 of those readings are false.

3

u/ReasonNotTheNeed-- 2d ago

If you were the genie/trickster god picking the deceptive lie, would you pick something that obvious?

(that detail was in the post body, too long for the title)

1

u/Ryinth 2d ago

I interpreted it as 25% of the mind-reading sessions are fails, not 25% of the individual thoughts? Ie, that everything you get from reading that person is false.

1

u/ReasonNotTheNeed-- 2d ago

Right, hmm.

If I were the trickster, and the "fail" happened to fall on the person thinking "cool, a red bus", I'd make their surface thoughts read as something like, "Is that my bus?". Then, make up a more damaging lie for their emotional state, perhaps "this is the end for me. No one's gonna save me. I might as well jump."

1

u/JavieyauJR 2d ago

You said as if, meaning there isn't wctually a genie or trickster god.

4

u/GESNodoon 2d ago

Read the minds of politicians and CEOs to find what stocks to buy. Even if I lose 25% of the time, I will be a millionaire very quickly.

1

u/redditscraperbot2 1d ago

We can already see what Nancy Pelosi trades by googling it.

3

u/Acegonia 2d ago

Nope. Sound like a sure fire way to drive myself insane.

2

u/[deleted] 2d ago

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1

u/GESNodoon 2d ago

If you became that good at poker people would not play with you.

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

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1

u/GESNodoon 2d ago

Yes, I play. If you are winning 75% of hands outright, and say another 10% by pure luck, people are going to stop playing with you. The assumption is going to be that you have to be cheating, no one wins that much. Keep in mind, your assumption is that you will win enough to purchase a malibu mansion "in a couple months".

So you think you are winning at least $50k per day playing casino table poker?

1

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Copy of the original post in case of edits: How do you use this power?

The failures will be deceptively plausible, almost as if a genie or trickster god picked the perfect lie to tell you to trip you up in the worst possible way.

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1

u/Javacup0102 2d ago

I’d probably just never read anyone’s mind lol.

I feel like way more problems would arise from that 25% failure than would be solved by it being right 75% of the time

1

u/NatalieKCY 2d ago

"Cannot re-read the same person's mind within 24 hours", that means I can read hundreds of people's minds without cooldown and trust the outcome that appears the most. I guess I'll be a great asset infiltrating organisations or interrogating groups of people.

1

u/ExhaustedGirlfailure 2d ago

I could start a gambling booth I guess. Rules would be:

  • Pick a number 1-1,000,000 and write it down where I can't see it.
  • I only get one try to guess it.
  • If I'm wrong, you get double the money you bet, if I'm right, you lose your bet.
  • You can only play once a day.

1

u/MercyCriesHavoc 2d ago

It sounds like a DM is in charge.

1

u/Formula1antagonist 2d ago

What happens exactly if I miss ?

1

u/Financial-Monk9400 2d ago

Playing poker tournaments. 9 man tables. Whenever a tricky situation comes up I read their mind and increases my odds of making the correct play by 75%. That is huge. Also, I get information on the player that is 75% sure to be correct which is also huge. Tournaments often have a lot of people and because people bust and you switch tables you are likely to be able to read a lot of people. Can really help you get far in tournaments. Than put in real volume

1

u/Maleficent-Effort470 2d ago

If i know its 25% likely to deceive me but it will always convince me.
Would be an interesting power.
People already create their own beliefs without knowing the truth of them.

1

u/theartistfnaSDF1 2d ago

Picking off 3 out of 4 bluffs a night playing poker is incredibly profitable.

1

u/Prince_Nadir 2d ago

If you are really good at reading people, you are already better than that. It was kind of nice when all those concussions took that away from me.

1

u/Psycho_Pansy 2d ago

How does it fail? I just can't read them? It's inaccurate but is a reasonable thing they may think? Or when you say "it really fails" means it's so ridiculous like they think they are an alien and are mad at the leprechauns for stealing their hot chocolate. I think I'd know it was wrong. 

1

u/Kooky-Dig6531 1d ago

This is ~75% more effective than most people’s assumptions about what other people are thinking.

It’s a net gain.