Re: World Quizzing Championships

quizbelgium <*andessurvivors_at_quizbelgium.yahoo.invalid*> · Mon, 24 Jan 2005 22:37:54 -0000

Jeremy,

Thanks for your reply.
I appreciate your feedback.

One thing I have to make clear: those questions were not designed for
buzzer quizzes. That's not the way we normally quiz and hence the
questions are somewhat different from what you'd normally get.

In a standard quiz here, teams or individuals (more than 50 teams
present at a single venue is no exception), answer questions on paper
which are normally read by the quizmaster. No need to be the first on
the buzzer, no problem when a clue comes early or late.

I know it's very different from what you do in the States.

And I will not discuss the advantages or disadvantages of any given
system. It's just different, that's all. 

But you realise, when organising an event in several countries with
people with different mother tongues, buzzer quizzes are not very
practical.

Kind regards,

Steven

--- In quizbowl_at_yahoogroups.com, jeremycec <no_reply_at_y...> wrote:
> 
> Steven,
> 
> First, let me say good luck with your competition...
> 
> However, the reason the first question is bad is that you don't really
> know what's being asked for till the end.  This inevitably leads to
> "hoses" (i.e., early and incorrect buzzes by people who probably knew
> the correct answer but were misled into believing the question was
> about something else).
> 
> The second question appears to give away the most pertinent
> information first, which, to anyone who knew the subject matter, would
> make it a buzzer race.
> 
> Your lack of knowledge about these basic tenets of question-writing is
> perhaps leading Daniel and others to doubt the legitimacy of your
> competition.
> 
> We all want people to attend our competitions; but first, you have to
> show quality, integrity, organization, etc. on a continual basis to
> get people interested in coming.
> 
> Best regards,
> Jeremy R.
> 
> 
> --- In quizbowl_at_yahoogroups.com, "quizbelgium" <andessurvivors_at_h...>
> wrote:
> 
> > Here some questions, as I said not terribly difficult, but not too
> > easy I guess (well you can all judge for yourselves):
> > 
> > In the middle of the 14th century, a Russian sect was established in
> > Pskov by deacon Karp. Later the centre of the sect moved to Novgorod.
> > The followers, mostly tradespeople and low-ranking clergy, renounced
> > hierarchy, priesthood and baptism, for which large fees had to be
> > paid. Their sermons were full of social motifs. The Russian Orthodox
> > Church dealt with them by having most people of the sect drowned in
> > the Volkhov River in 1376. What was the name of that sect?
> > 
> > 
> > Born in Strasbourg in 1906, he attended the universities of Frankfurt
> > and Munich, taking a PhD in theoretical physics. In 1935 he accepted a
> > position at Cornell University in New York State where he has stayed
> > ever since. His main work is concerned with the theory of atomic
> > nuclei. His work on nuclear reactions led him to the discovery of the
> > reactions that supply the energy in the stars, the carbon-nitrogen
> > cycle. He received the Nobel Prize for physics in 1967. What is his
> name?
> > 
> > 
> > The answers are (of course): Strigolniki and Hans Bethe.