Two Thirds of Average

This weeks challenge is an experiment in how people think about how people think.  Thinking about how others will act and behave under certain circumstances can help in the creative process.  It may lead to inspiration for new ways to go about doing things or it could introduce new possibilities.  It tends to be quite a hard thing to do however.  Most people probably think quite differently to you.

This weeks challenge is a simple little game.  There is a bit of maths involved but it is mostly psychology.

First off you need a bunch of friends.

Now,  everyone has to contribute a number.  That number will be their guess at what 2/3 of the average of all the guesses is.  The person whose guess is closest to the actual number is the winner.

There are various ways you could conduct the game.  Be creative.  You could just get everyone to write their guess on a piece of paper then collect the papers and calculate.  You could create a spreadsheet to do the working out for you.  Maybe set up a form on Google spreadsheets or on Numbers on an iPad.  If you're adventurous you could knock up a quick website to do the work for you.  Whichever approach you take peoples guesses should be kept private until all guesses are in and the answer known.

Why don't you break it down after and do a bit of reflection.  Look at what numbers people did pick.  Discuss people's strategies.  What worked, what didn't.  If you run the game multiple times with the same set of people do the guesses change in a predictable way?

If you want to find out more you can do so here or you can find an on-line version here.

Have fun.

Remember to check back next Friday when our next Creativity Challenge will be released.

Question, Explore, Create, Innovate