The Shell Game Revisited

Here's an online version of the Shell Game. Before you read on, give it a try. No, really. I'll make this a short article. You'll have plenty of time.

Did you win?

Now take a look at Alex Boldt's article "Winning the Shell Game." It describes a more familiar version of the Shell Game - the one that involves money and people who fool you.

What struck me particularly instructive about human nature as revealed this particular version of the game is that we seem to have so much fun trying to fool the fooler that we are willing to risk having to pay, a lot, for the opportunity to lose.

And perhaps even more instructive: we can even train birds to play.