Well, I understand that the field is deeper at TRASHionals. Though
it may have seemed like it, that wasn't entirely my point - I don't
score as high at TRASH Regionals either, which certainly couldn't
have a field any less deep than ABD. It was more a comment on TRASH
v. Trash than National v. Regional or anything of that sort.
But I think you're right about the second part, which is what I was
trying to get at with my "amateur" comment, even though it wasn't
very clear. Questions written by undergrads aren't necessarily going
to be as difficult as questions written by "older" people. (I've
especially noticed this in terms of layering - remember the question
at Duck Bowl on the movie Sneakers where the first two words of the
question were "Martin Bishop" - the film's main character? Of course
there was that question at TRASHionals on "Hoosiers" where Norman
Dale was mentioned in the first sentence, so who knows.)
Robert Flaxman
NUQB