Huh? Since every tournament has question distribution requirements, there shouldn't be much of a distinction between rounds as far as humanities v. science goes. As for the national background of authors, scientists etc... if anything, I think that it's clear that North American writers and history are extremely overasked in relation to their relative importance. I would guess that far more questions are asked on say Willa Cather, Margaret Atwood, Fitzgerald, Strand, Bellow et al in comparison to such European writers as Daudet, Le Sage, Camoens, Madame de Stael, George Eliot etc... The exception, of course, is British literature and history. There's no question in my mind that QB is Anglo-top heavy. Of course Shakespeare is asked more than any American writer, anyone want to volunteer an American author as worthy of being question fodder? Look at this century alone: clearly the towering writers were Joyce, Proust and Mann with some people such as Harold Bloom arguing for Borges in that mix, others for Marquez; what American writers could compete with those names--I would argue for Faulkner and Stevens as coming close, T.S. as well--but the Brits will claim him. On lowering bonus conversion to 20--as someone who gets tossups but doesn't have great bonus conversion percentages outside of my areas, at first blush I like this; but the immediate problem that I see is that the third part of a bonus is just about the only place where one can get away with really challenging questions (with the exception of ACF Nats I suppose). Example: on a simple related history bonus I could maybe write an easy part leading to "Sicily", a relatively difficult but not especially so part leading to "Robert the Wise", and finally a more challenging question on Joanna I (who really should be asked). The immediate problem with the 20 point bonus--would people be willing to jump from Sicily to Joanna I and only get 1/3 or half the points? People moan about the easier ACF tournaments as it is. As for bouncebacks in general: I'd be willing to try them in one tournament, but face it, buzzer speed is supposed to matter in this game, if so--the bonus is a reward. If we're just testing knowledge, let's all take written tests and not play the game. My opinion (for what it's worth) Nathan Freeburg
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0: Sat 12 Feb 2022 12:30:42 AM EST EST