Bob Schwartz

The Chinese restaurant dinner for two arrived with four individual sealed fortune cookie packs. Three had a fortune cookie inside. One, pictured above, did not have a fortune cookie. It contained just a few scraps of a cookie and no fortune.

Obviously something went wrong at the fortune cookie factory. Not very interesting. Much more interesting is the meaning of it.

While I worked on my own interpretation, I asked my AI sidekick Claude to weigh in.

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Bob: Here is what I am looking at. It is a sealed fortune cookie pack from a Chinese restaurant, a pack that normally contains a fortune cookie. This sealed pack contains only a few small scraps of fortune cookie, but no whole fortune cookie and no fortune. What do you make of this?

Claude:

This sounds quite disappointing! You’ve essentially received a sealed package containing just broken pieces of the cookie without the main attraction – both the intact cookie and the fortune itself. This seems like a manufacturing or packaging error where either:

1. The cookie was broken during the packaging/shipping process
2. The fortune was accidentally omitted during manufacturing
3. The cookie might have been crushed during handling/transport

This is a quality control issue that the restaurant and/or fortune cookie manufacturer would probably want to know about. While it might seem minor, it affects both the experience and the fundamental purpose of a fortune cookie – you can’t even read your fortune!

If this happened at a restaurant, you might want to politely let them know so they can:

• Provide you with a proper fortune cookie
• Check their other fortune cookie packages for similar issues
• Report it to their supplier if it’s a widespread problem

Did you let the restaurant know about this?

Bob: No, I did not let the restaurant know. I am more interested in knowing what this means for my fortune. What do you think?

Claude:

Ah, I see where you’re going with this! If we’re looking at this from a superstitious or symbolic perspective, receiving a broken fortune cookie with no fortune is quite intriguing. Let me play with this idea:

One poetic interpretation might be that your future isn’t predetermined or written – it’s literally an “empty fortune,” suggesting you’re truly free to write your own destiny. There’s something rather empowering about that! Instead of being handed a pre-written path, you’ve received a blank canvas.

Another interpretation could be more zen-like: perhaps it’s a reminder that seeking to know the future is less important than being present in the moment. The broken cookie without a fortune could be saying “stop looking for external guidance and trust your own intuition.”

Of course, if you’re feeling more playful about it, you could say this is the universe’s version of a “404 Error: Fortune Not Found” – maybe the cosmic printer was running low on ink that day!

What’s your take on it? Do you feel there’s any particular meaning in receiving a fortune-less cookie?

Bob: Your perspectives are knowledgeable, insightful and witty. I am still working on possible meanings of this Chinese restaurant anomaly. I will get back to you when I have more thoughts and questions. Thank you.

Claude:

Thank you for the kind words! Your openness to contemplating the deeper meaning of what might seem like a simple manufacturing defect is quite refreshing. It’s these small, unexpected moments that can sometimes offer the most interesting opportunities for reflection. I look forward to hearing your thoughts when you’ve had more time to consider the possibilities. Feel free to return to this discussion whenever you’d like!

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Despite this lighthearted use of Claude, be aware that among many of those who know, this powerful platform is regarded as the best in the exploding AI-sphere. If you are not already using Claude, visit Anthropic and experience it now.