No, the study of telepathy hasn't advanced so much that it permits the designing of thought-capturing machines. 20Q, as the little technological toy you can see in the picture is called, works on a much simpler principle. The machine asks you 20 questions (hence its name), to which the user might answer by pressing the “Yes”, “No” or “Sometimes” button.
Quite surprisingly, the 20 questions will be enough for 20Q to provide a relatively exact answer to the question asked by the user in their mind. In case the 20 questions are not enough, the machine will ask 5 more, before admitting defeat, which is quite difficult to attain, at least according to its manufacturers.
20Q, although it might look like a scam at first sight, is quite real. And if the thing you've thought about is very clear, and you show a little bit of flexibility in interpreting the machine's answer, you'll be amazed of just how close its answer is to the right one.
It's only a toy, but it might trick you into believing that higher forces themselves have created it and sent it to people to entertain them. The 20Q can be a great way to have slightly mean fun, convincing the more naïve that you can actually read their minds and the powers that reside in the magic ball can help you do whatever you want, even turn them into a frog, if they happen to upset you. Well, let's just say that, if you do that, and a part of your friends bow when they see you, the prank has worked...
However, it's not indicated to behave that way, as the purpose of the 20Q ball is pure entertainment, for everyone that uses it. You can get it for 10 pounds, and then convince yourself of its powers.
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