Quiz shows

[mikeymike]

I think virtually all of them are fixed in one way or another.  The odd exception being for stuff like University Challenge and Mastermind.

Otherwise I just simply don't see how a single person could know so much useless general knowledge.  I can see how people can learn a few specific subjects to such a depth, but to know so much general knowledge, how do these people live their lives?

What does everyone else think?

[GadgetMaster]

Maybe they only pick those with photographic memories. :-D

[Speelgoedmannetje]

What kind of general knowledge? I mean, in a sense of knowing who won how much oscars in 1955, or who made this or that football goal, things like that?
Or as in knowing who invented this or that, or the stadia of how a plant grows etc.?

[mikeymike]

General knowledge... as in general knowledge, if it were a particular kind it wouldn't be general would it? :-)

[X-ray]

I have personally met a few people with such good general knowledge that I was almost convinced they were aliens  :-)

Seriously, though, one such example was a radiologist (now deceased) who had an excellent knowledge of all these subjects:

1) All things medical (no surprise there)
2) All things related to military/ballistics/intelligence
4) Politics (all the major countries)
5) History
6) Geography
7) Any new scientific discovery or research
Literature, Entertainment
9) The basic customs and traditions of various peoples and their religions
10) Crafts and hobbies, including remote racing vehicles, motor mechanics, printing methods, design

There was once a very tough national quiz (about 500 questions, the answers to which you had to insert into a crossword) and this dude just sat there in his chair and we read the questions and he told us the answers, he didn't need any clues from the completed sections of the crossword. The only areas where he was weak were computers, pop/modern music and anything to do with TV soapies. I told him to go on millionaire, but he just grinned. I found out when he died in 1999 that he was in fact already a millionaire and he designated alot of his money to set up a clinic in Johannesburg.

That dude was just brilliant.

[GadgetMaster]

OT

@ X-ray

Those type of guys are usually an inspiration.

Is there any particular subject area in which you excel where your interest was inspired by him?

[X-ray]

@ Gadget

Well it is sad, because up until the time that he died, I was working with a female radiographer to produce a complete catalogue of all the types of neck injuries you can get, and we made a few posters and gave a few lectures, all with the guidance of this radiologist. So we were inspired to produce top notch stuff by this guy. (Those posters have ended up in various trauma units in SA and in the UK, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of them have 'leaked' into the US too).

Anyway, the sad thing is this: subsequent to his death, I got involved in a big way in projectile injuries, and the stuff I know now, and the projects I am involved with, even that radiologist would sit up and take notice. So if I choose an area of interest that I would compare to his, it would be projectile injuries, especially handgun wounds. He inspired me to do well in that field, and I reckon I could have carried a decent conversation on that topic with him if he was alive today.

But (and getting back on topic) even if I was to set out on a mission to gain all the knowledge he had when he died, I don't think I could do it in the thirty-odd years I would need to reach his age when he died. I just don't have the 'RAM' and 'HD' capacity that he had :-(
Come to think of it, I think he had a better CPU too :lol:

[Abou27]

I would be inclined to agree with you but thinking back to some of the nerds who appeared on the old UK show, Fifteen to One (which didn't seem to be hugely edited), you could tell that some of them (I'm thinking Michael Penrice for all those UK students of the past 5 years) were absolutely devastated when they got a question wrong or didn't win overall.

Shows like Millionaire look fake but I think that is mostly due to the editing intended to maintain the tension.  But, yeah, when watching it, you do find yourself becoming very cynical.

So, after all that crap, I find myself sitting on the fence.  Doh!

[GadgetMaster]

X-ray wrote:

Come to think of it, I think he had a better CPU too :lol:

Just like the Amiga eh?

All these modern day CPUs are fine and dandy but you just can't beat the experience gained from the the good old classics :-)