37

Jonathan T. writes:

If you haven't seen already, thought you'd find this interesting potential premise fodder.

It’s a good idea.

Let’s talk about crafting the idea so it builds in a satisfying and surprising way.

I would probably do the standard 37 force on them first. Then explain it and show them parts of this video.

“But it gets weirder…,”

Then I would do something that forces a three and a seven from a group of playing cards or number cards. So, something like the Gemini Twins force. This twists the concept in a small but significant way.

We’re still using numbers. And we’re still hitting on the number 37 in the end. But while the first phase—and the psychological appeal of the number—has some logic to it, the idea that you would be drawn to those numbers as individual cards in a deck seems much more abstract.

But… possible? I mean, maybe when you showed them the cards in the deck, their mind subconsciously picked up on the threes and sevens because it’s geared to identify those numbers (especially after discussing them for the past few minutes).

So we’re pushing from a psychological feasibility to something with a much more magical quality.

Now let’s take it to another level, while seemingly still rooted in the world of numbers and mathematics.

You have your friend multiply a “favorite” two-digit number, times a “random” three-digit number, times a four-digit number that “has some meaning to them.”

You end up with a random number. There is no immediate 37 connection.

You write the number down so you can refer back to it. You have your friend divide the number by 37 to see if that gives us any information. But it doesn’t divide evenly. You add up all the digits in the number, but that doesn’t get you 37 either. The square root, maybe?

You turn the number towards your friend.

“I bet it’s in there somewhere,” you say. “I just don’t know exactly how. People are so drawn to the number that it’s almost always is ingrained in these numbers that seem arbitrary or random.”

Then you see it.

“Holy shit.” You pick up the paper and start tearing and folding it.

No, 37 isn’t in the number. But 30 SEVEn is.

For me, this feels like an ideal progression.

You have the original psychological force, which is… fine. Sometimes it gets a pretty good response. Other times, just okay.

Then you have the explanation of this phenomenon with the video (again, I wouldn’t watch the whole thing with someone, just highlights). This roots the phenomenon in the real world in a way that makes some logical sense.

The phase with the cards takes this in a different, but potentially believable, direction.

And then the finale, where the numbers somehow spell out letters, is something that’s clearly not psychology, or mathematics, or anything like that. It’s surprising and magical, but it’s not a randomly tacked on magical element. It’s still firmly rooted in the premise that you established (that the number 37 weirdly shows up everywhere), but in a way they wouldn’t have anticipated.

(The method for the final phase is, of course, the TOXIC force and Cryptext. Cryptext could be used to fully spell out THIRTYSEVEN, but the number gets too long for my taste. And I sort of like the “sloppiness” of the way the number is revealed. It’s not too cutesy.)