Difference between revisions of "Importance"

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(Created page with ""'''Importance'''" is an abstract concept with no formal definition that nevertheless is used as a key factor in distinguishing facts which can be incorporated in quiz bowl qu...")
 
(the # of its release in Lamar's discography is less important to this discussion than the year of its release)
 
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"'''Importance'''" is an abstract concept with no formal definition that nevertheless is used as a key factor in distinguishing facts which can be incorporated in quiz bowl questions ("[[knowledge]]") and those which are not suitable ("[[trivia]]"). A fact is "'''important'''" if it has qualities which justify its inclusion in questions.
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{{Studying}}
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<onlyinclude>
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"'''Importance'''" is an abstract concept with no formal definition that nevertheless is used as a key factor in distinguishing facts which can be incorporated in quiz bowl questions ("[[knowledge]]") and those which are not suitable ("[[trivia]]"). A fact is "'''important'''" if it has qualities which justify its inclusion in questions, or (more cynically) if knowing it will garner one points.
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</onlyinclude>
 
There are varied criteria which can be used to determine if a piece of information is "important":
 
There are varied criteria which can be used to determine if a piece of information is "important":
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#in the colloquial meaning, it is marked by or indicative of significance worth or consequence;<ref>https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/important</ref> this could include as much as "everything that is discussed in quiz bowl" or as little as "nothing", depending on one's personal leanings
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#in the colloquial meaning, it is marked by or indicative of significant worth or consequence;<ref>https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/important</ref> this could include as much as "everything that is discussed in quiz bowl" or as little as "nothing", depending on one's personal leanings
 
#it is known by many people in the general population
 
#it is known by many people in the general population
 
#it is known by many people in quiz bowl
 
#it is known by many people in quiz bowl
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The practical definition of "importance" within the community is some mixture of these, as individual [[editors]] and [[writers]] will shift their [[clue]] choice and [[distribution]]s to align with their personal beliefs. These deliberate differences often arise from a desire to [[reward]] different knowledge bases, especially those that are outside the accepted norm.
 
The practical definition of "importance" within the community is some mixture of these, as individual [[editors]] and [[writers]] will shift their [[clue]] choice and [[distribution]]s to align with their personal beliefs. These deliberate differences often arise from a desire to [[reward]] different knowledge bases, especially those that are outside the accepted norm.
  
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Generally speaking, quiz bowl tends to limit its scope to [[academic]] subjects - however, the criteria of importance can (and often is) applied to topics in [[pop culture]]-specific tournaments. Arguments in favor of increasing or decreasing any given [[category]]'s distribution are inevitably couched in discussions of their "importance" relative to one's preferred categories.
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Generally speaking, quiz bowl tends to limit its scope to [[academic]] subjects - however, the criteria of "importance" can (and often is) applied to topics in [[pop culture]]-specific tournaments. Arguments in favor of increasing or decreasing any given [[category]]'s distribution are inevitably couched in discussions of their "importance" relative to one's preferred categories.
  
 
==Examples==
 
==Examples==
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{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 
!
 
!
 +
! a Rice Krispies Treat<sup>TM</sup>
 
! the political history of Paraguay
 
! the political history of Paraguay
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! a Rice Krispies Treat<sup>TM</sup>
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! the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbat numbat], an insectivorous Australian marsupial
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! Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film ''The Godfather''
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! [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Godfather Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film ''The Godfather'']
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! Season 6 of ''Friends''
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! [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Pimp_a_Butterfly Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album ''To Pimp a Butterfly'']
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! [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friends_(season_6) Season 6 of ''Friends'']
 
|-
 
|-
 
! it is known by many people in the general population
 
! it is known by many people in the general population
 +
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 +
| style="background: pink"      | No
 
| style="background: pink"      | No
 
| style="background: pink"      | No
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
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| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 +
| style="background: pink"      | No
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
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| style="background: yellow"   | Depends on demographics really
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| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 +
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes, but it depends on demographics really
 
|-
 
|-
 
! it is studied in academia
 
! it is studied in academia
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| style="background: pink"      | Very rarely
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
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| style="background: pink"     | Very rarely
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| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
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| colspan=2 style="background: yellow"    | Yes, but not in the fields of academia that quiz bowl typically chooses to represent
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| colspan=3 style="background: yellow"    | Yes, but not in the fields of academia that quiz bowl typically chooses to represent
 
|-
 
|-
 
! it is encountered in academic settings
 
! it is encountered in academic settings
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| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
 
| style="background: pink"      | Perhaps as a snack
 
| style="background: pink"      | Perhaps as a snack
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| colspan=2 style="background: yellow"    | Yes, but not in the fields of academia that quiz bowl typically chooses to represent
 
−
|-
 
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! it requires engagement with the material
 
−
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes*
 
−
| style="background: pink"      | No
 
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
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| colspan=3 style="background: yellow"    | Yes, but not in the fields of academia that quiz bowl typically chooses to represent
 
|-
 
|-
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! it is interesting
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! colspan=7 | Is it "important"?
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| colspan=4 style="background: yellow" | Subjective
 
 
|-
 
|-
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! colspan=5 |
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! Academic quiz bowl
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|-
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| style="background: pink"      | No
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! "Important" for quiz bowl
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| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 +
| style="background: pink"     | No
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
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| style="background: yellow"    | Sometimes
 
| style="background: pink"      | No
 
| style="background: pink"      | No
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| style="background: yellow"    | Typically
 
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| style="background: yellow"    | Only in pop culture sets
 
 
|-
 
|-
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! "Important" for other formats
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! Other formats
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| style="background: pink"      | Hopefully not
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| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
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| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
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| style="background: pink"      | Hopefully not
 
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
| style="background: lightgreen"| Yes
 
|}
 
|}
  
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<nowiki>*</nowiki> - It's something of a Catch-22 that, because this topic is already part of the mainstream canon, one can avoid direct engagement with the material. For more discussion of this topic, see "[[real knowledge]]".
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Some key takeaways:
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*There are topics which are not considered "important" for any trivia format, quiz bowl or otherwise.
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*There are topics which are considered "important" outside of quiz bowl that are not considered "important" inside of it. The largest category of such things is pop culture, which is largely excluded from the distribution, but also in other specific subjects like zoology.
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*There are topics which individuals within quiz bowl will debate over whether they are sufficiently "important". Many works of this kind lie along the boundary between high and low culture and between contemporary and historical, two divisions that quiz bowl is otherwise very willing to follow closely.
  
 
==Other formats==
 
==Other formats==
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==References==
 
==References==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
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{{c|Quizbowl concepts}}
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{{c|Quizbowl lingo}}

Latest revision as of 16:38, 1 August 2023

Saint Jerome in His Study

"Importance" is an abstract concept with no formal definition that nevertheless is used as a key factor in distinguishing facts which can be incorporated in quiz bowl questions ("knowledge") and those which are not suitable ("trivia"). A fact is "important" if it has qualities which justify its inclusion in questions, or (more cynically) if knowing it will garner one points.

There are varied criteria which can be used to determine if a piece of information is "important":

  1. in the colloquial meaning, it is marked by or indicative of significant worth or consequence;[1] this could include as much as "everything that is discussed in quiz bowl" or as little as "nothing", depending on one's personal leanings
  2. it is known by many people in the general population
  3. it is known by many people in quiz bowl
  4. it is studied in academia
  5. it is encountered in academic settings
  6. it does not involve rote memorization
  7. it requires engagement with the material
  8. it is interesting

The practical definition of "importance" within the community is some mixture of these, as individual editors and writers will shift their clue choice and distributions to align with their personal beliefs. These deliberate differences often arise from a desire to reward different knowledge bases, especially those that are outside the accepted norm.

Generally speaking, quiz bowl tends to limit its scope to academic subjects - however, the criteria of "importance" can (and often is) applied to topics in pop culture-specific tournaments. Arguments in favor of increasing or decreasing any given category's distribution are inevitably couched in discussions of their "importance" relative to one's preferred categories.

Examples

Here are a few hypothetical topics and some examples of how they align with the sample criteria provided above.

a Rice Krispies TreatTM the political history of Paraguay the numbat, an insectivorous Australian marsupial Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film The Godfather Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly Season 6 of Friends
it is known by many people in the general population Yes No No Yes Yes Yes
it is known by many people in quiz bowl Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes, but it depends on demographics really
it is studied in academia Very rarely Yes Yes Yes, but not in the fields of academia that quiz bowl typically chooses to represent
it is encountered in academic settings Perhaps as a snack Yes Yes Yes, but not in the fields of academia that quiz bowl typically chooses to represent
Is it "important"?
Academic quiz bowl No Yes No Yes Sometimes No
Other formats Hopefully not Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Some key takeaways:

  • There are topics which are not considered "important" for any trivia format, quiz bowl or otherwise.
  • There are topics which are considered "important" outside of quiz bowl that are not considered "important" inside of it. The largest category of such things is pop culture, which is largely excluded from the distribution, but also in other specific subjects like zoology.
  • There are topics which individuals within quiz bowl will debate over whether they are sufficiently "important". Many works of this kind lie along the boundary between high and low culture and between contemporary and historical, two divisions that quiz bowl is otherwise very willing to follow closely.

Other formats

Many trivia formats have a practical definition of "importance" which diverges greatly from that of quiz bowl; it is unclear whether they have formalized this concept at all.

Many of the things which trivia formats include that quiz bowl does not can be viewed as consequences of these differences.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/important
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