Hey Cal

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themanintheseersuckersuit
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Hey Cal

#1 Post by themanintheseersuckersuit » Sat Mar 15, 2008 3:08 pm

Nana nana nana! I'm ahead of you for the moment on the sploofus QOD. I got a break on the music question. Feel free to gloat when we finally get a tough sports or music question.
Suitguy is not bitter.

feels he represents the many educated and rational onlookers who believe that the hysterical denouncement of lay scepticism is both unwarranted and counter-productive

The problem, then, is that such calls do not address an opposition audience so much as they signal virtue. They talk past those who need convincing. They ignore actual facts and counterargument. And they are irreparably smug.

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TheConfessor
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#2 Post by TheConfessor » Sat Mar 15, 2008 5:51 pm

I think it changes continuously throughout the day, whenever someone answers a question. The question usually, but not always, arrives in my email around 1 or 2 in the morning. Since I'm usually still awake, I'll log in and see that my ranking might be something like 82, then immediately after I answer, if I get it right, I might move up to 25 or so. Then I guess I continue to drop down for the rest of the day as more people answer. So you two might take turns being ahead of each other, depending on when you check.

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TheCalvinator24
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Re: Hey Cal

#3 Post by TheCalvinator24 » Sat Mar 15, 2008 7:57 pm

themanintheseersuckersuit wrote:Nana nana nana! I'm ahead of you for the moment on the sploofus QOD. I got a break on the music question. Feel free to gloat when we finally get a tough sports or music question.
I think I've missed 3 questions so far this month. After I answered Thursday, I was #3. Today, right after I answered, I was #5.
It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. —Albus Dumbledore

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TheConfessor
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#4 Post by TheConfessor » Sat Mar 15, 2008 8:49 pm

I'm currently #88. You must be faster than I am. I don't think I've missed more than 3 questions this month, but I could be wrong about that.

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ulysses5019
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#5 Post by ulysses5019 » Sat Mar 15, 2008 8:51 pm

What am I, chopped liver?
I believe in the usefulness of useless information.

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TheCalvinator24
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#6 Post by TheCalvinator24 » Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:40 pm

Current BB (and others?) Sploofus QOD Standings:

#4 tmitsss
#7 Cal
#32 wwtbam (Is this one of us?)
#40 Uly
#42 Weyoun
#47 Ace1242 (Is this Ace?)
#88 Confessor

If anyone else is over there, let us know.
It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. —Albus Dumbledore

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TheCalvinator24
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#7 Post by TheCalvinator24 » Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:41 pm

TheConfessor wrote:I'm currently #88. You must be faster than I am. I don't think I've missed more than 3 questions this month, but I could be wrong about that.
I may have only missed 2. I'm not sure. I know I missed 2, and I thought I might have missed a third. I have an average answer time of 7.72 seconds.
It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. —Albus Dumbledore

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TheConfessor
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#8 Post by TheConfessor » Sat Mar 15, 2008 10:10 pm

I didn't know they kept response time statistics. I just checked mine. My average is 11.16 seconds, but that's since I joined almost a year ago. I've probably been faster in recent months, now that I know it makes a difference. At first, I just tried to answer before the clock ran out. If you check your points bar chart, you can see how many points you scored each day. According to that, I've missed two questions so far this month. And yet I'm only #88. I think paid members have additional ways to score points. I haven't really studied the site very much. I just answer the daily question.

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TheCalvinator24
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#9 Post by TheCalvinator24 » Sat Mar 15, 2008 10:13 pm

TheConfessor wrote:I didn't know they kept response time statistics. I just checked mine. My average is 11.16 seconds, but that's since I joined almost a year ago. I've probably been faster in recent months, now that I know it makes a difference. At first, I just tried to answer before the clock ran out. If you check your points bar chart, you can see how many points you scored each day. According to that, I've missed two questions so far this month. And yet I'm only #88. I think paid members have additional ways to score points. I haven't really studied the site very much. I just answer the daily question.
Paid members can improve their lifetime points by wagering tokens. As best as I can tell, they don't affect the Monthly QOD.

I missed March 1st & March 6th.
It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. —Albus Dumbledore

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TheConfessor
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#10 Post by TheConfessor » Sat Mar 15, 2008 10:50 pm

Looks like I missed 3/7 and 3/15. But my impression is that the same question doesn't go out to everyone each day. I'm not sure where I got that idea, so I might be wrong about that.

I don't like how the question disappears as soon as you answer it, so you never get a chance to go back and review the wording and possibly actually learn something. You're in such a hurry to answer that you can't afford to spend a lot of time absorbing the question.

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#11 Post by PlacentiaSoccerMom » Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:40 pm

ulysses5019 wrote:What am I, chopped liver?
I like your shoe.

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TheCalvinator24
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#12 Post by TheCalvinator24 » Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:42 pm

I just got the new question. If I had been a little quicker, I would have moved into the #2 slot.
It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. —Albus Dumbledore

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TheConfessor
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#13 Post by TheConfessor » Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:13 am

I just got my new question too. It asked the top grossing movie of 2002. Did you get the same question? I got it wrong, so I'm out of the top 100.

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#14 Post by TheCalvinator24 » Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:16 am

TheConfessor wrote:I just got my new question too. It asked the top grossing movie of 2002. Did you get the same question? I got it wrong, so I'm out of the top 100.
Nope. I got a Geography question.

That confirms that theory.
It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. —Albus Dumbledore

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#15 Post by TheCalvinator24 » Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:18 am

I would have gotten the 2002 movie. It was what came to mind even without multiple choice.

If they gave you #s 2-5 as distractors, there were some good wrong choices.
It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. —Albus Dumbledore

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peacock2121
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#16 Post by peacock2121 » Sun Mar 16, 2008 5:27 am

You people blow my mind.

I am like 4,200th.

I just don't know so much of that stuff.

I did know the Indian one today.

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#17 Post by ne1410s » Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:24 am

I'm #76 after Sundays question. It was concerning Astronomical Units.
"When you argue with a fool, there are two fools in the argument."

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#18 Post by peacock2121 » Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:28 am

ne1410s wrote:I'm #76 after Sundays question. It was concerning Astronomical Units.
Levels must have differing questions. Sundays, for me, was about Indians (American, that is).

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themanintheseersuckersuit
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#19 Post by themanintheseersuckersuit » Sun Mar 16, 2008 9:21 am

I got a movie question today and missed
Spoiler
At which film festival are the Golden and Silver Bears awarded?

The correct answer was:
"Berlin Film Festival"
Suitguy is not bitter.

feels he represents the many educated and rational onlookers who believe that the hysterical denouncement of lay scepticism is both unwarranted and counter-productive

The problem, then, is that such calls do not address an opposition audience so much as they signal virtue. They talk past those who need convincing. They ignore actual facts and counterargument. And they are irreparably smug.

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mrkelley23
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#20 Post by mrkelley23 » Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:43 pm

I don't think levels have anything to do with it, either. I have gotten ridiculously easy questions in the past week, and ridiculously hard ones in the first couple of weeks after I joined. I shouldn't say "hard" but rather obscure, since they were pieces of minutiae that might be Googleable, but not in the general pool of information.

I think there's just a huge bank of questions in 7 or so categories (actually I think it's more like ten categories, I haven't checked lately). Given the fact that you can "opt out" of one category, I don't see how it could be anything other than random.

I am doing horrible this month, BTW; after last month's #3 finish, I'm currently at #266 for the month of March, after missing yet another question this morning.

I have authored 8 or 9 quizzes on Sploofus, BTW; I know Pea has taken at least one of them. If you'd like to check them out, my handle there is the same as it is here.
For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled. -- Richard Feynman

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TheConfessor
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#21 Post by TheConfessor » Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:09 pm

Sploofus seems to be full of idiosyncratic features that are not obvious to the casual observer. I didn't know you can opt out of a particular category. So I assume people generally opt out of the category they know best, so they can put more focus on the categories they'd like to learn more about, right?

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#22 Post by SportsFan68 » Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:11 pm

I got the geography Q in 6.09 seconds -- dang slow dialup.

What was the Native American Q?
-- In Iroquois society, leaders are encouraged to remember seven generations in the past and consider seven generations in the future when making decisions that affect the people.
-- America would be a better place if leaders would do more long-term thinking. -- Wilma Mankiller

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#23 Post by SportsFan68 » Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:11 pm

Nevermind -- it says you can't tell.
-- In Iroquois society, leaders are encouraged to remember seven generations in the past and consider seven generations in the future when making decisions that affect the people.
-- America would be a better place if leaders would do more long-term thinking. -- Wilma Mankiller

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#24 Post by kayrharris » Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:41 pm

I'm way down in the thousands...even lower than Peacock. I tried to find my stats and like the Confessor was talking about and couldn't even find that.

Today's question was about Orson Welles and Citizen Kane. I don't think everyone gets the same question. My best category seems to be Potpourri, why I do not know.

I know I'll never be in the top 100, but maybe something will stick and I'll actually learn something.

Mr K, I will look up your quiz if I can figure out how to do that. You may have to IM me the instructions!
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. "
Benjamin Franklin

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TheCalvinator24
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#25 Post by TheCalvinator24 » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:47 pm

TheConfessor wrote:Sploofus seems to be full of idiosyncratic features that are not obvious to the casual observer. I didn't know you can opt out of a particular category. So I assume people generally opt out of the category they know best, so they can put more focus on the categories they'd like to learn more about, right?
I was sorely tempted to opt out of Geography, but I decided it would do me better to see those questions,even if my ego and ranking take a hit.
It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. —Albus Dumbledore

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