Abstract

I have a Reddit report. Remember Wednesday's game where the guy kept trying for all the math clues that no one could get and left the women authors category on the board? He came on Reddit and explained himself. He said he's terrible at literary trivia questions, he had done well in math in the past, the other guys obviously weren't getting the math questions, so he kept trying in hopes of keeping money away from the others and maybe picking up some money himself (he was in 3rd place). He knew in the moment he looked like a misogynist (his word), but he didn't mean it that way at all.

Yeah, it's rather obnoxious.

Good call. I was rattling off Margaret Mitchell and Harper Lee before the clue was revealed. Is the clue-writing team a bunch of old-fogey men or something?

Instaget on FJ, I ran the Bible and the Text categories. Got all but one on the L crossword clues and the Add a Vowel category.

It's Kenny Malone. I don't know if the full story is what aired on ATC, but the whole podcast is in my link upthread "How Uncle Jamie Broke Jeopardy."

I think he's here through the end of the season at minimum. I don't think the show would be making this big a deal about him if they knew he was going to get beaten before season's end. I edited my post at the beginning of the thread to add an article about Jasmine. She was the third contestant in the battle between James and Adam.

At some point the buzzer finger has to slow down, doesn't it?

Here's a fantasy WWYD scenario for Jeopardy: You're in DJ, and playing incredibly well, keeping neck-and-neck with the champion. The DD is hiding, but you finally find it on the last clue. You have a $100 lead. The category is your absolute best category, the one thing that you never ever miss. Do you wager everything except the $100 and attempt the runaway? Or do you make a sensible wager and hope to do well in FJ?

Such loneliness.

Ugh, that was the worst day of Jeopardy I've had in a long time. I bombed out on so many categories, but FJ was an instaget. Classical music is my thing. I can't believe that with time running out they kept trying the math questions that obviously no one knew.

Apparently I have become a James apologist IRL. I was talking to a friend of mine today whose teen son is ridiculously smart and a huge Jeopardy fan. I asked her how J was enjoying the James run, and she said "Well he doesn't like him, thinks he's cocky." So then I naturally had to tell her about James' Twitter and how he pokes fun at himself all the time, and then explain how his huge DD bets stem from actual gambling strategy and mathematical probabilities rather than being just full of himself. She promised to pass it on. Thankfully my friend understands geeking out and being a fan of things, that's one reason why we're friends.

6, 5, 2, and 1. ashamed that I know this

I tend to agree with you. I'm assuming that since you're a RIII advocate, you've read Daughter of Time? By the way, Francois admitted on Reddit that bed-surfing was wrong. Not that it does much good.

I absolutely agree. There's no way bed surfing should have been accepted. Boo hiss.

Julia live-tweeted the show and confessed to a crush on Seth Meyers. I thought I noticed a touch of fangirliness when she answered the clue. SNL is not my thing, I only got the totally obvious ones like Will Ferrell and Tina Fey. Had to google Bill Hader.

So I have the thread to myself then? Well okay. Point of order: I'm a fan, not a fangirl. There's a difference.

I only know it was during the Obama administration, which rules out 2006.

Get out of my brain! I thought it too, but then I re-read the clue and realized 2006 was too early. So then I was stumped.

Bob Harris discusses this in depth in "Prisoner in Trebekistan." Basically our primal responses take over when we're in stressful situations and depress higher level mental functions like quick recall. It has nothing to do with what you know or how smart you are. It's literally biology.

I'm just going to make this my main post on the topic, and add links as I run across them. If it's something other than an article I will indicate it. James talks about his sports gambling career Podcast where James is interviewed (this is really long, he doesn't come on till about an hour in, I'm not a big enough fan to bother listening.) Interview with one of the Holzhauer 44 Transcript: Planet Money - How Uncle Jamie Broke Jeopardy James delivers first Jeopardy winning streak since Ken Jennings Podcast - Effectively Wild Video interview on MLB Network Preschool math prodigy He was told to smile to get on Jeopardy What James teaches us about investment strategy James shares his favorite children's books Another of the 44 - Jasmine Science of memory and recall

I did the same thing. But usually with Jeopardy the obvious choice is correct. Jeopardy clue writers really really love Richard III.

The 30-second skip button is my friend. If I press it 7 times at the first commercial break, then I will be at the part where Alex is talking to the returning champ. I think it's 5 times before DJ, and 6 before FJ.

Grammar is one of my dream categories. It doesn't come up in regular play often, though.

I got Richard III, Switzerland, adverb, conjunction, Jane Addams, and Miles Standish. Two days in a row I got FJ from reading my kid's history book. This is kind of creepy.

Is this a good time to bring up the "why so many men?" question. It's been bothering me for a long time. Why are the majority of Jeopardy champs men? The only answer I can think of is that our society systematically stamps out of girls the aggressiveness that is needed to be an amazing player. I know it happened to me. So much emphasis on backing off, smiling, having a sweeter tone in my voice, not being so competitive, and the idea that the reason I couldn't get dates was that boys were intimidated by me. Ugh.