About the Experiment

The science behind the journey.

The "Cube in the Desert" thought experiment is a form of projective psychological test. While it's not a formal, scientifically validated psychological assessment like a standardized personality inventory, it draws heavily on principles found in various schools of psychology, particularly Jungian analytical psychology.

Here's a breakdown of its origins and why it feels so insightful:

1. Kokology and Japanese Origins

The "Cube in the Desert" is most famously known as part of a series of popular Japanese psychology games called Kokology. These games, or "tests," were popularized in a series of books authored by Tadahiko Nagao and Isamu Saito, starting in 1998. The word "Kokology" comes from the Japanese word "kokoro" (meaning "mind" or "heart") and the Greek suffix "-logia" (meaning "study").

These games are designed to tap into the subconscious mind by asking participants to imagine abstract scenarios and then interpret their spontaneous descriptions.

2. Roots in Projective Psychology

While popularized in Japan, the underlying principles of the "Cube in the Desert" are firmly rooted in Western psychological traditions, specifically projective tests.

Projective Hypothesis: The core idea behind projective tests is the "projective hypothesis." This suggests that when faced with ambiguous stimuli (like an abstract cube in a desert), individuals will project their own unconscious thoughts, feelings, conflicts, and desires onto that stimulus.

Similar to Rorschach and TAT: It operates on a similar principle to more formal projective tests like the Rorschach Inkblot Test or the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), where individuals describe what they see in ambiguous images or tell stories about ambiguous pictures. The interpretations are then used to gain insight into their personality and psychological state.

3. Influences from Carl Jung's Analytical Psychology

Many of the interpretations in the "Cube in the Desert" align strongly with concepts from Carl Jung's analytical psychology:

  • Archetypes: Jung proposed the concept of archetypes, which are universal, inborn patterns and images that are derived from the collective unconscious. Elements like the "desert," "horse," "ladder," and "flowers" can tap into archetypal meanings (e.g., the desert as a journey or challenge, the horse as a primal force or companion, flowers as life/beauty/fertility).
  • Symbolism: Jung placed great importance on symbolism as a language of the unconscious. The elements in the "Cube in the Desert" are meant to act as symbols that reveal deeper psychological meanings specific to the individual.
  • Individuation: Jung's concept of individuation is the lifelong process of integrating conscious and unconscious aspects of the self to achieve wholeness. This thought experiment encourages self-reflection, a key part of that process, by bringing unconscious perceptions into conscious awareness.
  • Ego and Self: The cube's representation of the "self" or "ego" is a direct parallel to Jungian concepts about the central organizing principle of personality.

Why it feels "eerily accurate"

The reason these types of exercises often feel surprisingly accurate is that they bypass the conscious mind's filters and direct you to draw upon your own internal landscape. When asked to spontaneously imagine something, your brain doesn't just create random images; it tends to draw on your experiences, beliefs, emotions, and personal associations. The "interpretations" are not pulling information out of thin air, but rather providing common psychological associations for the types of images and interactions people tend to spontaneously generate.

It's a powerful demonstration of how our unconscious mind processes and organizes our experiences and self-perceptions, even when we're not explicitly aware of it.