# Telepathic Review

Participants review key terms using a classic binary number mechanic where the group visualizes a secret item while the facilitator deduces it.

**Time:** 15 minutes. UWT suggested duration for a single demonstration round, participant reflection, and debrief
**People:** 4 to 24. Whole group with one voluntary assistant at the chart

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Reinforce recall and shared understanding of key terms through structured group visualization.
**Use it when:** Use at the end of a training unit to revisit vocabulary and core definitions in a focused, playful format.
**Skip it when:** Skip when participants need to produce novel solutions, debate complex trade-offs, or practice hands-on physical skills.

## Materials and tools

- One flip chart page listing 31 numbered terms
- One copy of the Magical Sets Reference Sheet per participant
- Scratch paper and pen for the facilitator
- Marker for the flip chart

## Before participants arrive

1. Write the 31 terms and their assigned numbers (1 to 31) clearly on a flip chart stand.
2. Print or display the five number sets (A, B, C, D, E) corresponding to binary keys 16, 8, 4, 2, and 1.
3. Position the flip chart so you can step away and face the other direction while the room views it.

## Say this to open

We will review our session vocabulary with a mentalism routine. One volunteer will select a term from our chart in secret. While I face away, everyone will note the word and its code number. Then, using five reference lists, we will test whether your shared mental focus lets me identify it.

## How to run it

### 1. Select the secret term (3 minutes)

Speak the opening script. Ask for one volunteer to approach the flip chart. Turn your back and close your eyes. The volunteer points silently to one term on the list so everyone else in the room sees it. All participants memorize the chosen word and its parenthetical code number. The volunteer returns to their seat.

### 2. Query the reference sets (4 minutes)

Turn around to face the group. Refer to the five sets labeled A, B, C, D, and E. Ask the room whether the secret number appears in Set A. Note whether the group answers yes or no. Repeat for Sets B, C, D, and E. On scratch paper, sum the key values for each yes answer: A=16, B=8, C=4, D=2, E=1. For example, yes on B (8), C (4), and E (1) yields 13.

### 3. Guide visualization and reveal (4 minutes)

Lead the room through two silent visualization prompts. Ask everyone to picture the chosen word spelled across a dark screen, then imagine someone actively using it. Match your calculated sum to the numbered list. Describe sensory details of the concept with dramatic patter before announcing the exact term.

### 4. Review the concept and debrief (4 minutes)

Ask the group to state the standard definition of the revealed concept. Invite up to three participants to share how this concept shows up in their daily work. Facilitate a brief discussion using the debrief questions to close the session.


## Debrief questions

- What specific workplace situation came to mind when you visualized this concept?
- How does this term link directly to the problem we examined earlier today?
- Which other term on the chart interacts most closely with this one?

**Finished output:** Group identification and practical definition of a key concept from the curriculum.

## Remote

Display the numbered list on a shared slide. Turn off your camera and mute audio. A volunteer sends the chosen term via direct message to another participant or enters it into a hidden host-blind poll. Turn your camera and audio back on. Show slides for Sets A through E. Participants enter yes or no in chat. Calculate the sum, deliver the patter, reveal the term, and run the debrief.

## Hybrid

Display the numbered list on both the in-room display and the remote screen share. Turn away with audio muted or muffled while an in-person or remote volunteer indicates the term to the rest of the group. Remote participants type yes or no in chat while in-room attendees call out answers. Calculate the sum and conduct the debrief across both channels.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may call out answers aloud, type in chat, or silently review the cards.
- Anyone may decline the volunteer role without explanation.
- Visual number sheets support participants who prefer written text over spoken cues.

## If the session gets stuck

**Participants disagree on whether the secret number is present in a specific set.**

Pause, display that specific set clearly, and give the room ten seconds to re-check the numbers before confirming the answer.

**Facilitator miscalculates the sum and announces the wrong term.**

Blame static in the mental transmission with good humor, re-check the yes sets aloud, compute the correct sum, and proceed.


## Terms used here

- Binary Card Trick: A mathematical method where numbers 1 through 31 are partitioned across five cards based on binary values 16, 8, 4, 2, and 1. Summing the top numbers of each positive card yields the secret value.
- Patter: The improvised or scripted monologue used by a presenter to maintain interest and provide theatrical framing.

## Participant material: Magical Sets Reference Sheet

Look at each set below to see if your secretly chosen number is listed.

Set A (Key: 16)
16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

Set B (Key: 8)
8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

Set C (Key: 4)
4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 31

Set D (Key: 2)
2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 18, 19, 22, 23, 26, 27, 30, 31

Set E (Key: 1)
1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31

## Participant material: Sample 31-Item Technical Term Review List

1. FTP
2. CHANNEL
3. BROWSER
4. CACHE
5. COOKIE
6. FREEWARE
7. DISCUSSION GROUP
8. APPLET
9. ATTACHMENT
10. FAQ
11. BANDWIDTH
12. CHAT
13. CYBERSPACE
14. FLAME
15. HOME PAGE
16. BULLETIN BOARD
17. FIREWALL
18. EXPLORER
19. ADDRESS BAR
20. DOT
21. BPS
22. FORUM
23. E-COMMERCE
24. BBS
25. ENCRYPTION
26. URL
27. EMOTICON
28. EMAIL
29. DOMAIN
30. BOOKMARK
31. BAUD

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Play for Performance newsletter (March 2003) published by Workshops by Thiagi, Inc., featuring 'Telepathic Review' by Sivasailam Thiagarajan.

The source document (Play for Performance, March 2003) is a newsletter issue containing multiple features: an article on RAMEs (Replayable Asynchronous Multiplayer Exercises) and a classroom activity called Telepathic Review. Old catalog metadata mistakenly described the whole issue as an asynchronous relationship mapping game. This run sheet isolates the complete instructional activity Telepathic Review, preserving its binary calculation mechanic and visualization sequence. UWT supplied the structured facilitation timing, step instructions, hybrid delivery rules, and printable set sheets.

[The Thiagi Group](http://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/march2003.html)

[The Thiagi Group](https://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/march2003.html)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/pfp-march-2003/