guessedguessing

Guessedguessing is a term used to describe a meta-cognitive strategy in which an individual generates a sequence of guesses not only to identify a solution but to anticipate the guesses that others—such as people, AI models, or game participants—are likely to produce. The approach emphasizes second-order reasoning: thinking about others’ knowledge, biases, and strategies to refine one’s own guesses. In practice, guessedguessing appears in puzzle design, interactive fiction, and certain game-theory contexts as a way to model or exploit prediction of others’ reasoning.

Etymology and status: the word is a portmanteau of guess and guessing and does not have a widely recognized formal definition in psychology or cognitive science. It is used primarily in informal discussions and some puzzle communities, without a standard theory or method. As such, references to guessedguessing tend to vary in scope and precision.

Mechanisms and examples: a solver may engage in guessedguessing by estimating the range of plausible guesses an opponent could consider, then ordering their own attempts to maximize information gain or competitive advantage. In Mastermind-like games, players might simulate opponents’ likely next guesses to guide their own strategy. In security or human–computer interaction contexts, guessedguessing can model attempts to anticipate an attacker’s mental model or a user’s expectations.

Applications and limitations: potential uses include evaluating and strengthening predictive reasoning in AI systems, designing puzzles that require anticipating others’ thought processes, and training strategic thinking. Limitations include increased cognitive load, risk of circular reasoning, and diminishing returns when others’ guesses are unpredictable or highly individualized.

See also: second-order thinking; metacognition; theory of mind; anticipation; game theory.