<p>It's a good trait as a leader to admit your faults. Like the saying there is no such thing as bad troops, but bad leadership. Don't know if that applies to civilians though.</p>
<p>Everyone keeps saying that the questions were easy... Did it ever occur to anyone that the showdowns may work like an SAT test, where they start off easy and get harder as they go along? I know the first question on the standardized tests I took made me say "Psh, child's play" but of course they got harder. So maybe on this show, since you get eliminated for getting a question wrong, we just never got to see the harder ones.</p>
<p>Now you might say "So how did kids this smart get those easy questions wrong???" Haven't you ever taken a test where you got a question wrong and you thought "Oh my goodness I can't believe I did that!" and yet you got questions right that a very small percentage of people who took the test also answered correctly? I'm sure it happens to these kids too, the difference being that they didn't get to "make up" for their mistake later on, that was their one shot.</p>
<p>Also, I consider myself to know a thing or two about literature... I could speak volumes on the man versus societal struggle that James Joyce portrayed in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and yet I've never had to read Tom Sawyer (and yes, I go to a wonderful school) since I never took American Literature. My sister knew the answer to that question b/c she'd seen the <i>movie</i>. Convinced his neighbors to whitewash a fence? Psh, do you realize how obscure that sounds if you've never read it? Of <i>course</i> I know what Gone With the Wind is, but have I ever had to know the name of the author. Heck no. I think, for those questions, it really depended on what the contestants already knew intersecting w/ what questions came up. Either that or they would have had to come across these books/authors/plots while studying for that competition. Well, technically Davis <i>did</i> come across Gone With the Wind. Ha ha ha. That was so freaking hilarious. The irony!</p>
<p>Lastly, I find kingroger's comments just... plain... ouch. "Beaner"? Who do you think you are?</p>
<p>i don't think the questions will get much harder. The questions are targeted at the audience (regular Americans) not the actual participants in the show because ultimately, the point of any tv show is to get a lot to watch. people won't watch the show if they have no idea what's going on.</p>
<p>For whoever asked, the word Beaner stems from bean burritto, a common Mexican dish. The noun Beaner is somewhat synonymous with a Mexican-American.</p>
<p>"Also, I consider myself to know a thing or two about literature... I could speak volumes on the man versus societal struggle that James Joyce portrayed in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and yet I've never had to read Tom Sawyer (and yes, I go to a wonderful school) since I never took American Literature. My sister knew the answer to that question b/c she'd seen the <i>movie</i>. Convinced his neighbors to whitewash a fence? Psh, do you realize how obscure that sounds if you've never read it? Of <i>course</i> I know what Gone With the Wind is, but have I ever had to know the name of the author. Heck no. I think, for those questions, it really depended on what the contestants already knew intersecting w/ what questions came up. Either that or they would have had to come across these books/authors/plots while studying for that competition."</p>
<p>When kids are competing for $250k and they struggle with something basic about one of America's most famous novels, they're going to encounter criticism. Is that fair? Probably not. But when your placed on a pedestal and chosen over thousands of other deserving, even more needy (Davis looks the the guy in Polo ads) students based on some made-for-tv notion of meritocracy and part luck, you'd better know your stuff. Your basic stuff anyway.</p>
<p>Do you know if that show will be broadcasted outside the US?</p>
<p>I think you guys are taking the show too seriously. It's just another reality tv show.</p>
<p>this show is retarded. i dont find any of these candidates that amazingly strong nor intelligent. seems like a joke reality show</p>