The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

His Final Jeopardy bet was sound. He was losing by a few thousand dollars, and knew she would bet a substantial amount to stay ahead, so he needed her to miss the question. His bet ensured that he would stay above the other constestant and win if the leader got it wrong and he (James) got it right or wrong.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

Whatever the goals of its players, the point of Jeopardy, as a TV show, is clearer: Its job is to attract viewers. In this regard, Holzhauer outperformed his competitors, too. About a month into his run, Jeopardy’s same-day viewership exceeded that of every other primetime show, giving the program its best weekly ratings in over a decade. And more recent figures indicate that Jeopardy’s ratings dropped to their usual levels during its annual Teachers’ Tournament in May, when Holzhauer wasn’t competing. (Jeopardy declined my request to interview a producer.)

The latter sounds like a professional game-show contestant. The guy I was thinking of with the hipster look was a bartender from maybe last year.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

Think any of 'em might be given the chance to replace Trebek, when the time comes? Jennings doesn't seem TV ready. Maybe they can coach him up.

Think any of 'em might be given the chance to replace Trebek, when the time comes? Jennings doesn't seem TV ready. Maybe they can coach him up.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

This is like saying Babe Ruth ruined baseball with the home run. I mean, sure, if everyone could hit a baseball like Babe Ruth, then yeah, but.

Babe Ruth had, or was written in the press to have had, a distinct and engaging personality. The automaton that was Jeopardy James doesn't, similar to most game theory/analytics guys imo. Makes it too like watching someone skilled playing video games. Leaving me just kind of flat.

Plus there's the loss of Trebek.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

In the meantime, it was the librarian who made the wrong play. She should have bet 0.

Are you stoned or pissed off, or both, when you create these postings?

Right, but my point is that theory alone doesn't cover the incredible hand-eye coordination he had to beat people on the buzzer every.single.time. His strategy falls to pieces if he alone can't sweep the bottom rows, which is what you'll see when people with more human reaction times are matched up and correct responses are more evenly distributed. Or people will think they can/must start at the 1000s, fuck up on the first clue, and start off at $-1000 while someone else controls the board.

As for Alex, I'm sure no one thought Art Fleming could ever be replaced by the white-afro guy from dopey High Rollers. The game can outlast him.

Are you stoned or pissed off, or both, when you create these postings?

James' loss illustrates that the game has essentially been solved and needs to be reconfigured. Both James and Emma got every question correct, and the only difference was Emma happened to find both DD in the second round (it looked like she was perilously close to missing the second one, but had an epiphany at the last second). The entire game has come down to the buzzer, since many of these contestants seem to have all the answers (James more than most).

I can't remember the Watson games...how did they work the buzzer?

The victims are the American People and the Republic itself.

I can't remember the Watson games...how did they work the buzzer?

It gets down to human vs. computer reaction time to the light that signals that players can press the button. (After the host reads the question, a light signals the contestants that the button is armed so they all have the same start cue.) According to one literature review, the accepted figure for mean simple reaction times for college-age individuals for light stimuli is about 190 ms (0.19 sec). (You can test your reaction time to a traffic light change or dot color change.)

What about Watson? Its reaction time is just five to ten milliseconds, according to a white paper provided to me by IBM and written by Dr. David Ferrucci, who heads up the Watson computer design team. That’s a 38:1 advantage!

But wait — Ferrucci throws us a curve: “By anticipating and ‘timing the buzz,’ top players do not have to wait for the enable lights,” he reveals. “Rather, they start their neurons and muscles going well ahead of the very end of the clue.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

One solution might be to structure the clues so that the more useful hints come later and let players interrupt at the peril of answering with limited information. Quiz bowl, in other words, or Sale of the Century minus the opportunity to buy an armoire for five dollars.

Or just write tougher clues.

Are you stoned or pissed off, or both, when you create these postings?

Would be interesting game theory. If she knew that he knew that she would bet x to stay ahead...but then what if he knew, etc.

But in practice, as we all remember, Watson had no trouble with buzzing in first.

One solution might be to structure the clues so that the more useful hints come later and let players interrupt at the peril of answering with limited information. Quiz bowl, in other words, or Sale of the Century minus the opportunity to buy an armoire for five dollars.

Or just write tougher clues.