Fortune Telling
The stars are aligning. Mercury is in retrograde. My astrologist said I have a healthy aura this month. But ... my astrologist is really freaking expensive. Sadly, I can't afford any more of their readings 🫤.
However, fortune bestows her favour upon me, for I can channel the spirit of the Pythoness1 - the great Oracle of Delphi - by reciting a few lines of the sacred language, Python 🙏.
Fig 1. Tell my fortune, oh great Pythia
Priestess of Delphi (1891) by John Collier on Wikipedia
🐍 The Code
It's normal to be confused. In fact, it's all part of the plan.
The code below is purposely NOT explained in detail. There are two reasons:
- To develop familiarity with Python - Before understanding the why, we first need to develop some baseline familiarity with typing Python and running code in Thonny.
- To get comfy with being confused - Being confused about novel code is completely normal for even experienced programmers, and it's good to practice getting used to that. In general, being able to sit with the discomfort of confusion is a useful skill when learning.
Type, don't copy
Manually type out the all the code below into the Thonny editor. You're wasting your time if you just copy and paste.
Pythia sees all, knows all, but has a fairly limited list of possible responses. She's a bit picky and expects questions with "yes" or "no" answers.
"""fortune_0
Tell my fortune, oh great Pythia
"""
import random
fortunes = [
"'Tis certain",
"Yes, indubitubly.",
"Most likely",
"Very doubtful",
"My sources say no",
"Reply hazy, try again.",
"Um, you don't want to know"
]
print(random.choice(fortunes))
Hm, but wait, it doesn't really make sense for Pythia to give us unsolicited fortunes. We should be able to ask her a question, first.
"""fortune_1
Tell my fortune, oh great Pythia
"""
import random
fortunes = [
"'Tis certain",
"Yes, indubitubly.",
"Most likely",
"Very doubtful",
"My sources say no",
"Reply hazy, try again.",
"Um, you don't want to know"
]
input("What answers do you seek, child?\n")
print(random.choice(fortunes))
Question
What happens when you remove the \n character?
Re-run the script and compare the difference.
That's better. But it's weird for her to respond if we don't ask a question.
Pythia should double check that we've asked her a question.
"""fortune_2
Tell my fortune, oh great Pythia
"""
import random
fortunes = [
"'Tis certain",
"Yes, indubitubly.",
"Most likely",
"Very doubtful",
"My sources say no",
"Reply hazy, try again.",
"Um, you don't want to know"
]
prompt = input("What answers do you seek, child?\n")
if prompt.endswith("?"):
print(random.choice(fortunes))
else:
print("That is a statement.")
Tip
Pressing the enter key will submit your question to Pythia.
Make sure to type your question first.
Finally, Pythia is a patient seer, and will continue to answer our questions until we are satisified.
"""fortune_3
Tell my fortune, oh great Pythia
"""
import random
fortunes = [
"'Tis certain",
"Yes, indubitubly.",
"Most likely",
"Very doubtful",
"My sources say no",
"Reply hazy, try again.",
"Um, you don't want to know"
]
while True:
prompt = input("What answers do you seek, child?\n")
if prompt.endswith("?"):
print(random.choice(fortunes))
elif prompt == "Goodbye":
print("Until next time 🐍")
break
else:
print("That is a statement.")
print()
🪞 Reflection
Take the time to complete the following reflection questions.
- Modify the code so that Pythia asks "What do you desire to know?"
- Make a list of everything that confused you. Here are some sample prompts to get you started:
- Why did we write _____?
- What does _____ do?
- How does _____ work?
-
Disclaimer: your Python code is (probably) not actually haunted by the spirit of Pythia (Wikipedia), a prominent oracle in greek mythology. ↩