A Question of Free Will
So you have a "How Does It Work" card and it led you here? GREAT!!
Get out the card and lay it flat on the table with your eight pennies ready, then keep reading:
(if you don't have a card, use the image above. You might need two screens: one for the spaces, one for the instructions)
One of the big questions of life: do we have free will, or is there a grand cosmic force controlling everything?
Has the outcome already been determined?
Is it the result of your choices and decisions?
Or is it some sort of combinations?
For this demonstration, you get to make decisions, exercising your free will.
But there are rules.
1. You can only move horizontally or vertically (not diagonally).
2. Along the way you’ll cover up squares, you can't land on a space once it's been covered.
Take note: All of this has been written down ahead of time. Permanently. It can not be changed along the way.
Ready?
Choose one of these:
A Card Trick?
The 3 Shells & Pea Game?
Drinking Coffee
A Dice Trick
The Light Bulb Trick
Place your finger on that square.
Now Move four spaces - this is where you’ll start (even you didn’t know where you’d start)
Move three spaces
I know you're not on the 3 shell game, so eliminate that square by covering it up with one of the pennies.
Move one space
No wearing that magic hat today - cover up the hat.
Move four spaces
With no hat the rabbit's not hanging around - cover him up.
Move three spaces
No dice fun today. Cover them up.
Is all of this random? You're choosing where to move each time...
Move two spaces
By now you know this isn’t a card trick - you're not on the cards, cover them with a penny..
Move one space
Time's almost up, so cover the watch
Move three spaces
Go ahead and turn off that light. Cover it up.
Move one last space
Wave the wand one last time as you cover it with your last penny.
DON'T SCROLL ANY MORE UNTIL YOU'VE WAVED THE WAND
YOU CHOSE THE COFFEE CUP!
The REAL Mystery
The real mystery isn't HOW it works, but WHY? Why did it work? Why did you end up on the coffee cup? You certainly chose which square to move to each time. There was some constraint given (the designer gets to make the rules) but you still made choices all along the way. The ultimate outcome, however, seems as though it was predetermined.
We live in a world that's constantly changing with things happening all the time. If you're alive, you're in a constant state of change. Some changes arel good, and others we would say are bad. Along the way, we make choices constantly. Some major, some minor. They all have consequences.
My hope is that in the many decisions you will make in your life, that you make wise decisions, and that life's most important choice is one that you make. Click on "Find Out More" to learn more.
One final decision: Check out the Magic Beans Blog (see below) for more tricks and puzzles along the way. You'll also keep up with upcoming Magic Beans events and shows. Check out the blog today!
The REAL Question
Whether or not you believe in God ultimately doesn't change whether or not He exists. Truth is truth whether or not we acknowledge it. The Bible teaches that there is a God who created everything and we will one day have to recon with Him. Click below to find the answer to life's most important question: who is God and how do I deal with that? What happens when I die?