<p>So, I'll admit I'm a jeopardy fan, and this year's quarterfinals for college jeopardy just finished. And here are the respective universitites of the semi-finalists:
Michigan State, Florida A&M, Marquette, Mississippi State, Michigan, Harvey Mudd, Wisconsin, Georgetown, South Carolina.<br>
Note that the people in the quarterfinals that did not advance to the semifinals include someone from Caltech, Harvard, Yale, and Tufts.</p>
<p>Note, I am not claiming the latter listing of schools are by any means stupid. Obviously, many people there are simply brilliant. Nor am I implying that it's particularly surprising that people from the former list advanced. But here is what I wanted to say with this: Many people feel that if they don't go to HYPSM, or even any other top 20 or 30 school, they will be way too smart for the other people there and will not be academically challenged. But, as I believe this evidences to an extent, you can find smart people everywhere! Don't feel bad if you got rejected from all of your reach schools and "had to settle" for your state school-- you will meet lots of fun, bright, motivated students at any school. Be happy with wherever you wind up. You will have a great time, and come out with an educational experience that will last your entire life.</p>
<p>Last year College Jeopardy was won by a student from UCLA, also a state school</p>
<p>This</a> is JEOPARDY!</p>
<p>Although there is definitely some correlation, Jeopardy success != intelligent. </p>
<p>Quick example:
While the HMC student (Andrew) on the show is very intelligent, there are of course some people at Mudd that are more intelligent. From what I've seen, none of them are as good as Andrew at jeopardy.</p>
<p>I've tried out (and qualified) for Jeopardy several times. Let me say this - there is the knowledge part, which is tough. But the actually playing of the game - ringing in, coming up with the answer quickly, is also tough, and often where people falter in the tryouts that I've been at. It really is a lot harder than sitting on the couch at home.</p>
<p>And of course, quick recall of knowledge is only one of many forms of intelligence. Useful, of course, but perhaps not the same bit of intelligence that you might use to write a book, argue a case in court, solve a complex physics problem, etc. etc.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I've tried out (and qualified) for Jeopardy several times. Let me say this - there is the knowledge part, which is tough. But the actually playing of the game - ringing in, coming up with the answer quickly, is also tough, and often where people falter in the tryouts that I've been at. It really is a lot harder than sitting on the couch at home.</p>
<p>And of course, quick recall of knowledge is only one of many forms of intelligence. Useful, of course, but perhaps not the same bit of intelligence that you might use to write a book, argue a case in court, solve a complex physics problem, etc. etc.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Exactly. I would categorize jeopardy with poker and other card games. There is some intelligence involved but the game is much more than just that.</p>
<p>Yeah, I know it's not a perfect measure, but I just wanted to point out to people that you don't need to go to an ultra-prestigious school in order to meet bright and talented kids.</p>
<p>I've been on a local TV gameshow and it's very hard to get used to buzzing in fast enough. You really have to go with your gut and trust yourself, and just go for it. That is how many lose points and scoring opportunities.</p>
<p>Because we all know that mastering trivial knowledge makes you more capable than everyone else...</p>
<p>I wouldn't attach a lot of meaning to which college you went to and success on Jeopardy. I'm a five-time Jeopardy champion myself from back in the mid-1990s, and I went to UC Davis. Ken Jennings, who has won more games than anybody on Jeopardy, graduated from BYU. And Brad Rutter, the killer champ of all time and the highest Jeopardy money winner, is a high school graduate and Johns Hopkins dropout.</p>
<p>No, winning a lot on Jeopardy is more of a "knack" than an indication of how smart you are.</p>
<p>I've never met a Jeopardy champion who wasn't a reader, but in general the knowledge you need to succeed on Jeopardy is a mile wide and an inch deep. The knowledge basically comes from a lifetime of paying attention more than anything you learn in college.</p>
<p>The knack to winning a lot of games on Jeopardy is to have very good reflexes with the button and to have the sort of brain that can sort and store a lot of individual facts and retrieve them very quickly. In terms of real intelligence, you could be smarter than Isaac Newton himself and still get slaughtered on Jeopardy if you don't have near-instant recall of a wide range of stuff. </p>
<p>Ever see some poor guy just getting killed on Jeopardy - just standing there and never buzzing in? Well, in my experience that unfortunate guy usually knows just as much as the other two players who are thrashing him. In fact, I'd estimate than on >80% of the clues ALL THREE players know the correct answer. But some are just better at quick recall and getting the timing right on the buttons. Thanks to the written qualifying tests and other hurdles to get on the show in first place, only the most knowledgeable players get on the show. Thus, only on the hardest clues does superior knowledge actually start to sort out the players on the televised shows.</p>
<p>agreed coureur -combined with a bit of luck on the categories- I would do much better in medieval literature, for example, than sports statistics.</p>