Mind-reading - Revision history

Andrew Wang NT at 15:58, 17 September 2023

2023-09-17T15:58:40Z

Kevin Wang: /* In "good quizbowl" */

2022-01-06T19:24:32Z

In "good quizbowl"

Kevin Wang at 19:19, 6 January 2022

2022-01-06T19:19:14Z

Kevin Wang at 19:18, 6 January 2022

2022-01-06T19:18:34Z

Andrew Wang NT at 18:31, 26 October 2021

2021-10-26T18:31:23Z

Chris Chiego at 06:53, 26 October 2021

2021-10-26T06:53:08Z

Kevin Wang at 18:54, 25 October 2021

2021-10-25T18:54:24Z

Kevin Wang at 14:24, 20 June 2021

2021-06-20T14:24:57Z

Kevin Wang: /* Other uses */

2021-06-20T14:24:39Z

Other uses

Kevin Wang: /* Other uses */

2021-06-20T14:21:47Z

Other uses

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 ==Other uses==
-Colloquially, mind-reading can also refer to the process of quickly deciphering the [[theme]] of a complicated question. This idea appears very literally in [[Wanggories]], the [[vanity set]]s written by [[Andrew Wang]], where particularly vague questions may conclude with simply "[[For 10 points]], read my mind" or where prompts may be replaced with the instruction to "Read my mind better."
+Colloquially, mind-reading can also refer to the process of quickly deciphering the [[theme]] of a complicated question. This idea appears very literally in novelty packets where particularly vague questions may conclude with simply "[[For 10 points]], read my mind" or where prompts may be replaced with the instruction to "Read my mind better."
 [[Category: quizbowl lingo]]

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 ==In "good quizbowl"==
-The concept of mind-reading can be applied to "[[good quizbowl]]" questions: a player who has knowledge of a set's writers and their strengths may be able to make inferences about which subjects they would be more or less likely to write about. For instance, a player might use Tweets or Facebook posts to deduce what novels an editor is reading or particularly enjoys. A successful mind-reading buzz might be accompanied by a proclamation from the player that the editor or writer "loves that book!"
+The concept of mind-reading can be applied to "[[good quizbowl]]" questions: a player who has knowledge of a set's writers and their strengths may be able to make inferences about which subjects they would be more or less likely to write about. A successful mind-reading buzz might be accompanied by a proclamation from the player that the editor or writer "loves that book!" This can be used maliciously by a player who observes the social media of an editor to determine what they are reading or particularly enjoys.
 Some level of this is unavoidable, due to the nature of how quizbowl sets are written and the friendships among quizbowl players, writers, and editors, but explicitly seeking out information about writers to try to determine what they are writing about is [[sportsmanship|frowned upon]]. Similarly, it is typically expected that writers and editors will not publicly speak about topics which may appear in sets which they are writing for, or at least that they will not emphasis particular clues.
-Mind-reading is additionally primarily a concern in questions with clues that are too vague to be helpful, or questions on descriptive concepts that are difficult to follow the writer's train of thought to the answer without literally reading their mind.
+Mind-reading is additionally a concern in questions with clues that are too vague to be helpful, or questions on descriptive concepts. If it is difficult to follow the writer's train of thought to the answer without figuratively "reading their mind", then a question may suffer from low [[end conversion]].
 ==Other uses==

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 The term originated in "[[bad quizbowl]]" [[format]]s, where it was much more feasible to rely entirely off of loose approximations like "The only Romanian leader they ask about at this [[difficulty]] is Ceausescu," or "The [[mythology]] [[editor]] of this [[set]] loves Finnish myth." In some cases, mind-reading relies on known aspects of the [[question writer]], such as the original writer for [[Academic Hallmarks]]'s affinity for Western novels and geography, the poem the Jabberwock, and other pet topics.
-Questions that reward mind-reading are the worst kind of [[speed check]]s in that they often punish players who might know about more about a subject (e.g. Romanian leaders other than Ceausescu). For instance, a [[tossup]] that begins "This Romanian leader..." may make a player who knows of multiple Romanian leaders pause and wait for more clues to specify which Romanian leader than a player who only knows one Romanian leader.
+Questions that reward mind-reading are the worst kind of [[speed check]]s in that they often punish players who might know about more about a subject (e.g. Romanian leaders other than Ceausescu). For instance, a [[tossup]] that begins "This Romanian leader..." may make a player who knows of multiple Romanian leaders pause and wait for more clues to specify which Romanian leader, while a player who only knows one Romanian leader can feel comfortable buzzing immediately without the [[burden of knowledge]].
 ==In "good quizbowl"==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 <onlyinclude>'''Mind-reading''' is the process of attempting to figure out where a [[question]] is going based off of context. It differs from [[lateral thinking]] in that the player relies not on past factual knowledge or deductive thinking but rather from heuristics and gut feeling.</onlyinclude>
-==In bad quizbowl==
+==In "bad quizbowl"==
-The term originated in [[bad quizbowl]] [[format]]s, where it was much more feasible to rely entirely off of loose approximations like "The only Romanian leader they ask about at this [[difficulty]] is Ceausescu," or "The [[mythology]] [[editor]] of this [[set]] loves Finnish myth." In some cases, mind-reading relies on known aspects of the [[question writer]], such as the original writer for [[Academic Hallmarks]]'s affinity for Western novels and geography, the poem the Jabberwock, and other pet topics.
+The term originated in "[[bad quizbowl]]" [[format]]s, where it was much more feasible to rely entirely off of loose approximations like "The only Romanian leader they ask about at this [[difficulty]] is Ceausescu," or "The [[mythology]] [[editor]] of this [[set]] loves Finnish myth." In some cases, mind-reading relies on known aspects of the [[question writer]], such as the original writer for [[Academic Hallmarks]]'s affinity for Western novels and geography, the poem the Jabberwock, and other pet topics.
 Questions that reward mind-reading are the worst kind of [[speed check]]s in that they often punish players who might know about more about a subject (e.g. Romanian leaders other than Ceausescu). For instance, a [[tossup]] that begins "This Romanian leader..." may make a player who knows of multiple Romanian leaders pause and wait for more clues to specify which Romanian leader than a player who only knows one Romanian leader.
-==In good quizbowl==
+==In "good quizbowl"==
-The concept of mind-reading can be applied to [[good quizbowl]] questions: a player who has knowledge of a set's writers and their strengths may be able to make inferences about which subjects they would be more or less likely to write about. For instance, a player might use Tweets or Facebook posts to deduce what novels an editor is reading or particularly enjoys. A successful mind-reading buzz might be accompanied by a proclamation from the player that the editor or writer "loves that book!"
+The concept of mind-reading can be applied to "[[good quizbowl]]" questions: a player who has knowledge of a set's writers and their strengths may be able to make inferences about which subjects they would be more or less likely to write about. For instance, a player might use Tweets or Facebook posts to deduce what novels an editor is reading or particularly enjoys. A successful mind-reading buzz might be accompanied by a proclamation from the player that the editor or writer "loves that book!"
 Some level of this is unavoidable, due to the nature of how quizbowl sets are written and the friendships among quizbowl players, writers, and editors, but explicitly seeking out information about writers to try to determine what they are writing about is [[sportsmanship|frowned upon]]. Similarly, it is typically expected that writers and editors will not publicly speak about topics which may appear in sets which they are writing for, or at least that they will not emphasis particular clues.

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 Some level of this is unavoidable, due to the nature of how quizbowl sets are written and the friendships among quizbowl players, writers, and editors, but explicitly seeking out information about writers to try to determine what they are writing about is [[sportsmanship|frowned upon]]. Similarly, it is typically expected that writers and editors will not publicly speak about topics which may appear in sets which they are writing for, or at least that they will not emphasis particular clues.
 ==Other uses==
-Colloquially, mind-reading can also refer to the process of quickly deciphering the [[theme]] of a complicated question. This idea appears very literally in [[Wanggories]], the [[vanity set]]s written by [[Andrew Wang]], where particularly vague questions may conclude with simply "[[For 10 points]], read my mind."
+Colloquially, mind-reading can also refer to the process of quickly deciphering the [[theme]] of a complicated question. This idea appears very literally in [[Wanggories]], the [[vanity set]]s written by [[Andrew Wang]], where particularly vague questions may conclude with simply "[[For 10 points]], read my mind" or where prompts may be replaced with the instruction to "Read my mind better."
 [[Category: quizbowl lingo]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:24, 20 June 2021
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−	<onlyinclude>'''Mind-reading''' is the process of attempting to figure out where a [[bad quizbowl]] question is going based solely on known aspects of the question writer. It differs from [[lateral thinking]] in that the player relies not on past factual knowledge or deductive thinking but rather from heuristics like "The only Romanian leader they ask about at this [[difficulty]] is Ceausescu," or "The [[mythology]] [[editor]] of this [[set]] loves Finnish myth."</onlyinclude>	+	<onlyinclude>'''Mind-reading''' is the process of attempting to figure out where a [[bad quizbowl]] [[question]] is going based solely on known aspects of the [[question writer]]. It differs from [[lateral thinking]] in that the player relies not on past factual knowledge or deductive thinking but rather from heuristics like "The only Romanian leader they ask about at this [[difficulty]] is Ceausescu," or "The [[mythology]] [[editor]] of this [[set]] loves Finnish myth."</onlyinclude>

	Questions that reward mind-reading are the worst kind of [[speed check]]s in that they often punish players who might know about more about a subject (e.g. Romanian leaders other than Ceausescu).		Questions that reward mind-reading are the worst kind of [[speed check]]s in that they often punish players who might know about more about a subject (e.g. Romanian leaders other than Ceausescu).