Arthur Chu had a problem.
The 30-year-old “Mad Genius” knows a lot about some things, little about others. And he had no time to bone up adequately on likely categories before a scheduled appearance on “Jeopardy,” the TV quiz show.
How then to maximize his chances?
Answer: strategy — an unconventional strategy that annoyed some viewers. For example, instead of starting with the lowest-dollar value in a subject column on the board and working his way down, he went for the $1000 clues first. Not done.
Chu also jumped around the board in search of the Daily Double, a square that lets you bet everything from $1 to everything you’ve won so far. Also not done. He found a Daily Double in Sports and, being ignorant of sports, bet just $5. Again, annoying some people.
Chu doesn’t apologize. “If I get a Daily Double in sports and I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna know it, why would I take an unnecessary risk? I guess people see it as a jerk thing to do, but the benefit in that is that I can take that clue away from someone else who does know about sports.”
After all, the point of the game is to win, and what you win is money, “which is important to me,” he clarified (perhaps unnecessarily). Chu played within the rules, played smart, bet smart, and was willing to be slammed for thinking outside the usual squares.
Result: big winnings. Good for you, Arthur Chu.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
4 replies on “Independence in “Jeopardy””
.… the point of the game is to win and what you win is money, “which is important to me,” said Mr Chu, who played within the rules, played smart, bet smart and was willing to be slammed for thinking outside the square.
Result: big winnings. Good for you, Arthur Chu.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob
It is and you are!
off topic once again. if there’s any doubt that corruption grips us all the way to the top of every status quo seeking institution in the world then read this:
Bank of England officials told currency traders it wasn’t improper to share impending customer orders with counterparts at other firms, a practice at the heart of a widening probe into alleged market manipulation, according to a person who has seen notes turned over to regulators.
A senior trader gave his notes from a private April 2012 meeting of currency dealers and two central bank staff members to the Financial Conduct Authority about six weeks ago because of mounting media coverage of the investigation, said the person, who asked not to be named while probes are under way.
Traders representing some of the world’s biggest banks told officials at the meeting that they shared information about aggregate orders before currency benchmarks were set, three people with knowledge of the discussion said. The officials said there wasn’t a policy on such communications and that banks should make their own rules, according to the people. The notes could drag the U.K. central bank into another market-rigging scandal two years after it was criticized by lawmakers for failing to act on warnings that Libor was vulnerable to abuse.
If traders can show “they made Bank of England officials aware of practices in the FX market some time ago, then the bank will be at risk of being characterized as having endorsed, by its silence and inaction, the very practices which are now under investigation,” said Simon Hart, a lawyer at RPC LLP in London
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014 – 02-07/scandal-bank-england-encouraged-currency-manipulation-private-banks
this is “frontrunning”. the oldest form of crooked trading in the book. translated: the banks own us. every last one of us and they will break every law it takes to maintain control because if they don’t their institutions die along with their own legacy simply because they are too arrogant and greedy to operate a safe institution. they are all hedge funds who get to make billions and if they loose, bail the damn thing out with more taxpayer money. eric hoklder even admitted last year that big banks are “too big to prosecute”.
I’ve seen other players do the same thing. Anyone who dislikes what he did has the option to not watch. I always thought it was stupid to start from the top and run down the column, especially for one who’s an expert in that category.
Bravo to Chu for showing some strategic smarts. We’ll be seeing more contestants doing the same thing.
However, while I’m sure Chu would like to pick the daily double, trying to guess it gives up the opportunity to choose a question in a category he knows well. Thus the idea he “jumped around the board to find the daily double” doesn’t make any sense, as any unused square is as likely to be that as another.