I’m going to share a game with you. This game will reveal incredible things about whoever plays it; surprise, shock and delight complete strangers, and has kickstarted more friendships than I know how to count.
Play along and you’ll see.
I want you to imagine a desert, stretching out as far as your eyes can see. In this desert is a cube.
Your first task is to describe the cube. What does it look like? How large is it? What is it made of? Where exactly is it?
There are no right answers here, only your answers. Take a moment before you continue – the detail is important.
As you look at the desert and your cube, you notice there is also a ladder. Your second task (there are just five) is to describe the ladder. What is it made of? How big is it? Where is it, in relation to the cube?
Now imagine that in the scene there is a horse. (Yes, horse. I didn’t say this desert made sense). Your third task: describe the horse. Most importantly: where is the horse, and what is it doing? Where, if anywhere, is it going?
We’re nearly there now. In the scene before you, are flowers. Your penultimate task: describe the flowers. How many are there? What do they look like? Where are they, in relation to the horse, cube, ladder and sand?
Final question. In the desert there is a storm. Describe the storm. What type of storm is it? Is it near, or far? What direction is it headed? Does it affect the horse, flowers, cube or ladder?
If you’ve been playing along, this is going to be fun. If you didn’t, I must warn you: the next part ruins your ability to play this game ever again. If you won’t want to ruin it forever, go back now. Trust me.
Ready? There’s no going back.
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The cube is yourself.
The size is ostensibly your ego: a large cube means you’re pretty sure of yourself, a small cube less so.
The vertical placement of the cube is how grounded you are. Resting on the sand? You’re probably pretty down to earth. Floating in the sky? Your head is in the clouds.
The cube’s material conveys how open you are: transparent cubes belong to transparent people, opaque cubes are more protective of their minds. Glowing? You’re likely a positive person, who aims to raise the spirits of others. Made of granite? You’re likely protective and resilient.
The trick here is that when asked to describe a blank, abstract entity – a cube – your imagination will tend to project its own identity onto it. This trick is as old as time, but it’s about to get more interesting.
The ladder represents your friends.
Are your friends leaning on the cube? Your friends depend on you, and are close. Is the ladder frail, or robust? Tall or short? Does it lead inside the cube? Or is it cast to one side, lying unloved on the sand? By now you should be able to draw your own conclusions.
The horse represents your dream partner.
The type of horse reveals a lot about what you yearn for in a partner. Some people see a steady brown workhorse, others a shining pegasus or unicorn. Make of these people what you will.
Is your horse nuzzling your cube affectionately, or taking a bite out of it? Is it far from your cube, or walking away? This can represent a current partner, or an aspirational one, but the results are often a mix of touching and hilarious.
The flowers represent children.
The number of flowers relates to how many you imagine having. Some people see just a single,withered daisy; others a resplendent garden covering the cube and desert beneath. (Guys: watch out for those).
The colour and vitality of the flowers can speak to their health and presumed prosperity. The placement – particularly in relation to the cube – can reveal interesting relations; I met one woman whose horse was eating their flowers.
Finally, the storm represents threat.
This speaks to the current state of the person, and how they perceive risk in their life. Some may see a distant storm, on the lip of the horizon, fading from sight. Others may view themselves in the midst of a thunderous apocalypse, hailstones the size of tennis balls pelting their fragile cube and horse. Chances are those people have some immediate trauma in their life.
Now is this all correct? Of course it isn’t. You won’t be reading any peer-reviewed journals on the soothsaying properties of horses and ladders. This is a game, albeit one that has endured in various forms for thousands of years.
But if you play along – and I encourage you to try this on others – you will find it appears to have an uncanny sense of reliability to it. There might be many reasons: people seem to project themselves onto abstract objects (the cube), and their affections onto animals (the horse). Our nurturing of flowers bears some resemblance to that of children, a storm is a signal of environmental danger that taps into our sense of unease, and a ladder is something we find supporting.
Maybe it’s all just wishful psychobabble.
But I’ll tell you what. It’s an incredible tool for getting to know someone. In five minutes you’re able to discuss a stranger’s character, friends, partner, children, risks, dreams and aspirations. You will stand out as someone memorable, and you probably had a right laugh too.
I learned about this game from the book "The Cube" by Annie Gottlieb and Slobodan D. Pesic. For more on asking these questions and interpreting the results, you should check it out.
在这里跟你们分享一个游戏。这个游戏将很不可思议地揭露玩家的心理。陌生玩家会感到吃惊、震惊还有惊喜，并且据我所知，这个游戏已经导致数不尽的友谊崩溃了。
玩了它，你就知道了。
现在脑海中想象有一个沙漠，尽可能地延伸到远方。在沙漠里，有一个立方体。
你的第一个任务就是描述这个立方体。它长什么样？有多大？什么材质的？在哪里放着？
这些问题都不存在标准答案，只有你自己的答案。所以，好好地想一想，细节很重要。
当你看着眼前的景象时，想象，你看到那里还有一把梯子。你的第二个任务（共五个任务）就是描述那把梯子。它是什么做的？有多大？摆在哪？和那个立方体有什么关系？
好的，现在想想那里还有一只马。（对，就是一匹马，我可没说沙漠里不能有马。）第三个任务当然就是描述这匹马了，着重描述它在哪？它在干什么？如果它在走的话，在去哪呢？
快了，就要结束了。在你眼前的景象中，无边的沙漠中，盛开着几朵花。你的倒数第二个任务就是描述这些花。有多少花？它们看起来怎么样？它们开在哪？和马、立方体、梯子和沙子都有什么关系？
最后一个问题。想象这时候突然来了一阵风暴。描述一下这个风暴。是一种什么样的风暴？距离远还是近？它朝哪去？它对马、花、立方体和梯子有什么影响吗？
如果你确实在玩的话，接下来就是好玩的地方了。如果你不在玩的话，我要警告你，接下来的部分将让你永远没法再玩这个游戏了，相信我，倒回去玩吧。
准备好了吗？现在已经没有退路了。
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你想像出来的立方体其实就是你自己。
立方体的大小反映了你的自我：如果立方体是大的话，那你对自己是有自信的；小的话你对自己可能不太自信。
你放置立方体的位置可以反映你对于现实的态度：如果你把它放在沙漠里，那你很可能就是个现实的人。如果立方体漂浮在空中的话，那你多半是个喜欢想入非非的人。
立方体的材质反映了你的开放程度：想象透明立方体的人大多属于对外毫无保留的人，想象非透明立方体的人对外人会对自己的想法有所保留。色彩鲜艳的？那你很可能是个积极向上，能鼓舞大家的士气的人。花岗岩做的？那么你更倾向于保护自己的想法不外说。
这个把戏的奥秘就是当你在描述那些空白抽象－一个立方体－的时候，你的想象会更倾向于把你自己的形象倾注进去。这已经是个很古老的把戏了，但屡试不爽。
那把梯子代表你的朋友。
你的朋友（梯子）是不是靠着那个立方体？如果是，那你的朋友就是属于依赖你和你亲近的类型。梯子很脆弱还是很牢固？高还是矮？它嵌在立方体里，还是靠在立方体上，下端埋在沙子里？游戏玩到现在了，你应该也已经会自己总结了吧。
那匹马代表理想的另一半。
你所想象的马的类型可以很大程度上揭露你对另一半的要求。有的人看见的是一匹慢步的棕色驮马，有的看见闪闪发光的飞马座或者独角兽。他们怎么想的他们就是怎么想的。
你所想象的那匹马是不是在亲昵地用鼻子摩挲着立方体？或者是咬了一口立方体？它离立方体远不远？或者它直接走开了呢？这些行为都揭示了你当前拥有的，或者你所梦寐以求的另一半的特征，但是现实的结果往往是又感人又滑稽，喜忧掺半。
而花代表孩子。
花的数量和你想要的孩子的数量相关。有的人只看到了一朵枯萎的雏菊，有的人看到了一个繁花似锦的花园覆盖住了立方体甚至整个沙漠。（同志们，要当心这些人啊！）
从花的颜色和生命力状况上，可以看出玩家的孩子是否身体健康和未来的成功与否。而从花的位置－尤其是和立方体的方位关系－可以揭露其中有着非常有趣的关联。我曾遇见过一个女士，在她想象的画面中，马正在吃花。。。
最后的最后，风暴代表威胁。
从这个可以看出玩家目前的生活状况，还能看出他们如何察觉生活中的危机。有的人可能看到的风暴离得还很远，甚至在事业的边缘，渐渐远离视线。有的可能想象他们自己身处雷鸣般的灾难的中心，乒乓球般大的冰雹打在脆弱的立方体和马身上。那么这些人很可能在现实生活中即将迎来一场灾难。
现在再看看，这些都说的都对不对？当然不会是都是对的了。但我保证你在任何一本同行评议的杂志上都找不到马和梯子所预言的内容。别看这只是个游戏，即使已经有人用尽了各种各样的方式、花费了好多好多年，也都拿它没办法。
但是，如果你玩过这个游戏了－我建议你让别人也尝试一下－你会发现，这个游戏会让你对它产生一种很神秘的依赖感。这种感觉有可能是源于，你发现了：在想象中，人们好像倾向于把自己想象成抽象的事物（游戏中你所想象的立方体）；在想象中，人们倾向于把感情倾注在动物身上（那匹马）；在想象中，对花的关爱和对孩子的感情很相似；在想象中，风暴是危险降临的标志，会给人以不安的感受；在想象中，那把梯子，是我们想要获得的依靠。
也可能这些都是自己所渴望的心理呓语罢了。
但是我要告诉你的是，这是个很好的工具帮助你了解某个人。五分钟之内你就可以洞察出一个陌生人的性格、朋友、另一半、孩子、生活危机、梦想和渴望的情况。你将成为一个令人难以忘记的人，而且你也能和他们一起大笑。
我是从安妮果德勒和斯洛博丹佩斯克所著的《立方体》一书中发现的这个游戏的。想知道更多关于这个游戏或者是游戏结果的话，你自己去看书找答案吧。