Transcript 10/12/2010 Dan Maggin (carryover)

[BBTranscriptTeam]

Dan Maggin
Rockville, MD
Going for his MBA at the University of Maryland

Bank: $41,000
One JTQ left

Topic Tree before randomization was:

Last Hurrah
When in China
Imaginary Sports
What a Pest
Song of Fame
That’s My Girl
A Family Affair
Online Help
Name That Actor
Waterfront Property

Topic Tree: (randomized)

What a Pest
Imaginary Sports
When in China
Name That Actor
That’s My Girl
Last Hurrah
A Family Affair
Online Help
Song of Fame
Waterfront Property

Question 8 - When in China

In China, what does a person do with renminbi?
A. Eat it B. Spend It
C. Wear It D. Listen to it

JTQ

Answer and value

B. Spend It
Value: $500 (cheering that it was not $25000)
Bank: $41000

Question 9 - Imaginary Sports
In the Harry Potter books, which of these is not a position one can play in the sport Quidditch?
A. Sweeper B. Chaser
C. Beater D. Keeper

Answer and value

Dan said he never read one of those books. He said beater did not sound good to him.
He went with C.

Correct answer: A. Sweeper
Value: not shown
Bank: Dan left with $1000

[drew scheeler]

Dan Maggin
Rockville, MD
Going for his MBA at the University of Maryland

Question 9 - Imaginary Sports
In the Harry Potter books, which of these is not a position one can play in the sport Quidditch?
A. Sweeper B. Chaser
C. Beater D. Keeper

Answer and value

Dan said he never read one of those books. He said beater did not sound good to him.
He went with C.

Correct answer: A. Sweeper
Value: not shown
Bank: Dan left with $1000

There's a difference between an educated guess and pure stupidity.

[TheConfessor]

Dan Maggin
Rockville, MD
Going for his MBA at the University of Maryland

Question 9 - Imaginary Sports
In the Harry Potter books, which of these is not a position one can play in the sport Quidditch?
A. Sweeper B. Chaser
C. Beater D. Keeper

Answer and value

Dan said he never read one of those books. He said beater did not sound good to him.
He went with C.

Correct answer: A. Sweeper
Value: not shown
Bank: Dan left with $1000

There's a difference between an educated guess and pure stupidity.

Yes there is. What's your point? Are you saying that people should automatically walk away if they don't have a clue about the answer? That's crazy talk. I didn't know the answer either, but I'd have been willing to take the 1 in 4 guess, just for a chance to continue the once in a lifetime opportunity. The guy's bank was $41,000, so he had a choice of walking away with $20,500 or risking $19,500 to keep his dream alive. He went for it. Good for him. The show needs more contestants like him.

[earendel]

Dan Maggin
Rockville, MD
Going for his MBA at the University of Maryland

And evidently had student loans to pay off.

Question 8 - When in China

In China, what does a person do with renminbi?
A. Eat it B. Spend It
C. Wear It D. Listen to it

JTQ

Answer and value

B. Spend It
Value: $500 (cheering that it was not $25000)
Bank: $41000

I'd also JTQ.

Question 9 - Imaginary Sports
In the Harry Potter books, which of these is not a position one can play in the sport Quidditch?
A. Sweeper B. Chaser
C. Beater D. Keeper

Answer and value

Dan said he never read one of those books. He said beater did not sound good to him.
He went with C.

Correct answer: A. Sweeper
Value: not shown
Bank: Dan left with $1000

He also noted that they have brooms, which is why he eliminated "sweeper".

[silverscreenselect]

Dan Maggin
Rockville, MD
Going for his MBA at the University of Maryland

Question 9 - Imaginary Sports
In the Harry Potter books, which of these is not a position one can play in the sport Quidditch?
A. Sweeper B. Chaser
C. Beater D. Keeper

Answer and value

Dan said he never read one of those books. He said beater did not sound good to him.
He went with C.

Correct answer: A. Sweeper
Value: not shown
Bank: Dan left with $1000

There's a difference between an educated guess and pure stupidity.

For most people, $20,000, while nothing to sneeze at, is not life changing money, while the larger dollar amounts on this show are. I think that one of the biggest changes in the show over the years is that on the primetime show in the early days, people were always aware that someone, in a matter of minutes, could win life changing amounts of money. Part of my flawed reasoning when I went down in flames on the American flag question was the thought that I really wanted to have my lifelines available for the six-figure questions (the carryover contestant came in on the $125,000 question, which he got right, and walked on the $250K question, both of which I had no clue on).

The show, the audience, and most contestants have lost track of that especially with all this randomization BS and most people look on this as a chance to pay off some household bills. That's understandable in one way since it's been so long since anyone has actually won big money, but it takes away from the show's original appeal.

Let's put his dilemma in perspective. A contestant on Jeopardy normally has to win four or five games to win $100,000, which you are likely to see only two or three times a season (not counting tournaments). He was one question away from getting that shot (plus a chance at even more).

[gsabc]

With trade and economics becoming more and more a global affair, an MBA student not knowing about renminbi is nearly inexcusable. He must have slept through those classes. Both his professors and his fellow students should be remorseless in teasing him about this.

[TheConfessor]

With trade and economics becoming more and more a global affair, an MBA student not knowing about renminbi is nearly inexcusable. He must have slept through those classes. Both his professors and his fellow students should be remorseless in teasing him about this.

Good point. I think more Americans have heard of the yuan than the renminbi (which I've mainly heard mentioned on CNBC). Here's the distinction, according to Wikipedia:

The yuan (sign: 元; code: CNY) is, in the Chinese language, the base unit of a number of modern Chinese currencies. The distinction between yuan and renminbi is analogous to that between the pound and sterling; the pound (yuan) is the unit of account while sterling (renminbi) is the actual currency.