Re: Comments on ICT

ltcoldubois <*no_reply_at_yahoogroups.com*> · Thu, 17 Apr 2003 02:53:12 -0000

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying Matt, but it seems 
you're saying that opening clues at the ICT should be gettable by 1 
person at the tournament.  Presumably this person is the most 
knowledgeble 'expert' on subject X.  

I disagree with this idea.  I think differentiation between the top 
two teams can occurs over the course of 20+ tossups without such 
stringent requirements.  When you consider the vast aggregation of 
knowledge at nationals, I think it becomes quite an Herculian task to 
come up with tidbits about fairly well-known subjects that only one 
person knows.  I suppose it could be accomplished by increasing the 
difficulty of the tossups, but this lowers the accessibility of the 
question to all the non-experts.  Given the average length of NAQT 
questions and the timed format, I can't even say this is a worthy 
goal of a first clue.  

I didn't play at the ICT, but I imagine there were first clues and 
power marks that were simply too easy.  I made the same complaint to 
R. via email concerning the SCT questions.  However, I think first 
clues do not need to be as obscure at Matt suggests.  First clues 
shouldn't be buzzed on in the majority of rooms, and 'experts' should 
have a better shot at them than laymen.  However, just because you 
know a particular clue, that doesn't necessarily make that clue 
easy.  Questions have to start somewhere, but I'd rather they start 
with useful, possibly interesting, clue rather than something along 
the lines of "The 1000th word in this novel is spork."

Paul Tomlinson

--- In quizbowl_at_yahoogroups.com, Matt Weiner 
<darwins_bulldog1138_at_y...> wrote:
> <<Clues that only one person at a tournament knows are
> not effective uses of time or paper >>
> 
> I disagree. Any given game at the ICT could quite
> easily be between the two best teams in the country.
> Since it's equally important that questions
> differentiate between teams 1 and 2 as it is that they
> provide an entertaining game between teams 31 and 32
> (or 35 and 36...), a single opening clue that may only
> be answerable by the top player in that category on
> team 1, followed of course by more accessible clues,
> should be included quite often.
> 
> --M.W.
> 
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