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The presently available online oracles
for consultation of the I Ching are quick.
That is, a single click determines a
hyperline. There are times when this
speed is important, even though in
the best of times, one would like to meditate
on the question for 15 minutes or so.
The problem with the present quick oracles is that their probabilities are unknown, and may not be what we would ideally want. Our position here is that the yarrowstalk oracle, or YO, has the ideal probabilities. Out of 16 hyperlines cast, one obtains on average: 1 six, 5 sevens, 7 eights, and 3 nines. In short: 1-5-7-3. So we have designed a quick oracle with these probabilities. Here is how it works. You click on a point on the screen in a square of size 64 by 64 pixels. These are arranged in a grid of blots. There are 256 blots in an array of 16 by 16 blots. Each blot is a square of 4 by 4 pixels. So when you pick a pixel, you are choosing first a blot, and then in addition, choosing one of the 16 pixels of the blot. Our program forgets which blot. Then the choice of a location in the 4 by 4 array yields a hyperline (a 6, 7, 8, or 9) according to the rule: |
| 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 |