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The King William's College 2004 Quiz
A UK college creates an annual quiz for their students. Here's the Questions and Answers from a previous year, if you want to get an idea of just what sort of esoterica you're seeking.
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if you thought that said erotica. ::raises hand::
I'm in America and wow, I didn't know any of them (furthest I went was section 1). Is this just a fun quiz that the college puts on for their students, or are there any sort of prizes available?
They should have asked some of these questions to Ken Jennings while he was still on Jeopardy. My bet, 10% correct.
Back in my day, we watched T.V. by candlelight.
...that the questions are arranged from shortest to longest back to shortest in each section with Question 6 being longest?
Now, back to the eggnog!
someone, for the love of god, get James Burke on the phone.
"Scire ubi aliquid invenire possis, ea demum maxima pars eruditionis est"
It seem to say something about write down the stuff you make up to the best of ability yours, but I will leave the real translation to those who are smart and well educated.
All I can say is that the test seems to over useless stuff. Give me a quiz over Star Trek or South Park or ATHF or TNMT. That would be time well spent and prove my superiority.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
bikes must have been quicker than that
And true enough quickly looking at the first section I was able to find answers to 9 withing few minutes... The last one would require probably few more minutes..
In a way it is strange how much information is searchable... and how the action of searching the web has taken over. Back when younger we were supposed to LEARN the history...:)
I was thinking if they made an Slashdot Quiz how would it be, I wonder?
Slashdot Quiz
1. What is Raistlin Majere's middle name?
2. Name 10 species that existed in Middle Earth.
3. If someone offends you with a post, should you a). Flame him b). Flame him c). Flame him.
4. Name the past 10 iterations of intel's processor.
etc...
Here is another Guardian article with some more information about the quiz, as opposed to the quiz itself, which is ridiculously hard. It tells a bit about the author (quizmaster) of the quiz and other bits of useful information like the fact that they take the quiz once before winter break and then once after winter break after having some time to prepare responses using any means available (including the Internet, which is one reason it has gotten harder in recent years -- the author wants to make sure that google is all but useless).
Anyway, I'd hate to have to take one of these, and the last thing I want to do over break is look up 180 obscure questions.
5) In Soviet Russia, what happens?
6) What kind of cluster are you imagining right now?
7) In Korea, what demographic group is particularly special?
8) Who is Cowboy Neal?
9) What is the best material for covering Natalie Portman?
10) Can you trust your computer to this quiz without its digital signature?
libertarianswag.com
The things about the test is that the questions are tedious and out-right moronish at times. A more interesting test would appeal to wit, humor and but would be deceptively easy/tough.
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You should have at least got 3.14... and one millionth of a meter. You are a pathetic excuse for a human being. Maybe you should try living the rest of your life as a dog.
:)
That test is too non-U.S. centric
It's 100 years old and it'll still outsmart you.
We'll see about that.
-Ken Jennings
Guardian Says: "The King William's College quiz: It's 100 years old and it'll still outsmart you."
Hey, It's 100 years old and that's the one of the reasons it is so difficult.
How am I supposed to remember the 100 years old history? I can't even remember the syntax for crontab entries. Everytime I have to go through the man pages.
We are not really esoteric, it's just that nobody pays much attention to us.
ha, we were supposed to LEARN, but...
The world may be changing to one where the flow of information is so rich and accessible that we need not remember all types of abstract facts and figures; we'll just look them up when we need them. With such a world of data at our fingertips at all times, our minds will be freed from hard data to concentrate on concepts and ideas through more objective thought processes. I wonder if such limitless access to information could eventually change the way people think, enabling them to concentrate less on the actual information and more on the relationships/concepts at hand?
Thus one would need the "base data" or call it framework to place the facts found from sources line google. If that framework is not there the facts will be meaningless or even too easy to forge.
more like "the useless knowledge quiz"
Slashdot is still infested with Michael Sims. :(
Oh well, maybe in the New Year...
These questions are too hard. Does anyone know of any better Xmas quizzes? How about some that would be good for a mixed UK and US audience?
Peace,
Aleph
9) What is the best material for covering Natalie Portman?
Saran wrap?
The college is a public (in British sense) school on the Isle of Man - which lies in the middle of the Irish Sea and is not part of the UK
Wasn't that a 70's concert?
Google is 8 years old and it'll still outsmart this quiz. Next!
Air. And nothing more.
"Could I have Obscure and British for $1,500, Alex"
I was always told in my undergraduate engineering education that we were "learning to learn". The idea being that it is more important to learn how to approach new topics, find information, discern fact from fiction, and apply both old and newfound knowledge than it is to remember the Navier-Stokes equation verbatim. This approach has proved very helpful now that I'm out in the working world.
I would imagine that the traditional humanities-related fields would find this approach even more critical. With the wealth of information available now, it is extremely important to know how to find it quickly and discern what is real and what is just fluff. Combine this with an understanding of the concepts or "base data" you speak of and you have yourself a powerful intellect.
4. Who composed:
:-):
:-)
... ANSWER: gotterdammerung (sp) from Wagner's The Ring
... , none .. ANSWER: this little piggy had "roast beef"
2 Maple Leaf Rag? ANSWER: Scott Joplin (EASY)
7 One O'Clock Jump? ANSWER: Count Basie (EASY)
9 Milneburg Joys ANSWER: Jelly Roll Morton
10 St Lous Blues ANSWER: WC Handy (EASY)
5. What culinary delicacy misleadingly suggests
9 a dachshund in season? ANSWER: hot dog (they used to be called dachshund sausages)
6. What:
1 is 3.14159? ANSWER: a truncated version of pi
3 represents one millionth of a metre? ANSWER: micro (mu)
6 cerebral activity consists of oscillations with a frequency of 8-13 hertz? ANSWER: alpha waves
10 is a minimal amount? ANSWER: one iota
10. What
10 shelters the village smithy? ANSWER: "the spreading chestnut tree"
11. Who or what:
11 blemish arises from the oxidation of sebum? ANSWER: blackhead (sebum is the oil from your skin)
12. Identify titularly (that's BY TITLE in case you're thinking something else
1 Sauron ANSWER: every geek should know
13. Who:
9 was the twin, who needed proof? ANSWER: "doubting Thomas"
15. Complete:
4 Rheingold, Walkure, Siegfried,
10 market, home,
16. Which waterfall:
9 witnessed the death of a sleep-walker? ANSWER: well I read this story once but I can't remember the title, the author, or the name of the waterfall....
17. Who:
5 successfully absorbed nitroglycerin in kieselguhr? ANSWER: Alfred Noble, inventor of TNT
18. In 2003:
6 who, sadly, can no longer advise us to eat the hamburger and throw away the bun? ANSWER: Atkins
8 whose failure to avoid dying has ruined his career? ANSWER: Bob Hope
These aren't so bad once you figure out how to decipher the question.. to Google-proof them no doubt.
Fun..
It freaks me out every time I see a mention of that online. It's the school I used to go to - indeed right now I'm only a few miles away, back on the Isle of Man for the holidays. We used to have to do that quiz every year and we all hated it!
Anyway, some information...
[1] KWC is not a 'college', really, despite its name. It's a primary and secondary boarding and school, these days, for boys and girls. (When I started there, it was male-only.)
[2] It's in the Isle of Man on the outskirts of the town of Castletown and the village of Ballasalla. This means it is not in the UK, strictly: the Isle of Man is an independant protectorate of the British crown. The Manx Tynwald is the oldest government in the world - 1,025 years of continuous rule.
Liam P. ~ "Intelligence is a lethal mutation." (me)
2, 4 and 10?
Well, that might work, but the correct answer is:
;)
HOT GRITS
libertarianswag.com
Hot grits
King William's college is NOT in the UK! It's in the Isle of Man, which is neither part of the UK nor part of the European Union.
Since we're talking about my home (and a general knowledge quiz that eminates from there) I thought I ought to point this out.
Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
6.2 The Glacier Express Railway.
8.5 M/V Esperanza.
9.5 Mt. Brandon (St. Brendan the Navigator, said to have discovered North America).
10.6 Einstein.
10.7 Orson Welles (Citizen Kane)
11.3 The burning of Rome (Nero).
11.10 The Chicago Fire.
14.7 John Brown ('s Body Lies a-Moldering...).
14.10 German WW1 storm troops, later the Nazi SA.
15.4 The time zone of the Republic of Kiribati.
15.8 A cherry picker.
17.5 Look before you leap.
rj
Oldest and longest enduring democracy for that matter.
Seeing that RDF feed popping up in Evolution gave me a frisson, I was there.
I know the answer is "hot grits", but can anyone say where that comes from? A google search is somewhat fruitless, as most of the results point to slashdot and nerds.
Before or after the hot grits?
Yes, Hot grits is another way to say cum.
Wikipedia explains it. This is like, my 9th account. I remember this shit starting. If this article isn't correct, then i have no idea. drugs maybe?
None of this knowledge is necessary. It is all trivial. However, you would occasionally need to reference some of it. Because of that, more than an encyclopedic knowldege, the ability to use a tool (IE google) borne of newer technology which can store this information is far more valuable. Nobody can know everything, but the ability to find out what one does not know efficiently and practically is essentially the same thing.
Yes. Those were Jim Laker's bowling figures against Australia in the 1956 Ashes at Old Trafford - he was the first bowler to scalp all 10 wickets in a test innings. (That feat has been repeated only once, by Anil Kumble against Pakistan in 1999).
d epth/cricket/2001/ashes/legends/laker.stm (Scroll down to 1956 Old Trafford).
Link here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport/hi/english/static/in_
BTW, if you don't play/watch cricket, that was some good deduction on your part. The four numbers represent a bowler's statistics: number of overs bowled, number of maiden overs, runs conceded, wickets taken. The superlative number here would be 19, the number of wickets he took in the match.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Cool, a whole Dutch section (7, in which town).
to do the 2004 edition of the quiz.
Here's a test for the U.S. :