The Official TPH Education Thread (POTENTIAL GAME DAY SPOILERS)

[BobF]

Where are 600, 560, and 556 coming from?

Mexico, unless Trump builds the wall.

[bpmod]

Here's what I mean from this. You're getting to the problem X + 556 = 1100. So let's try that, without any borrowing.

556
+ abc (abc represents the digits of a 3 digit number)
-------
1100

Whoa! WHOA!! WHOA!!!

Who said anything about 3 digit numbers?

Brian

[dhkendall]

No chance to play more trivia games online or at a bar?

Trivia games still fall prey to the same thing: there's no pattern to whether or not I ever actually learn anything. More than once, I've played along to a rerun of J! and actually done WORSE the second time around. I've actually bombed categories that are usually in my wheelhouse, like retail/fast food, cartoons, music, and wordplay.

Also, the only bar anywhere near me doesn't do trivia. Nor do I have a way to get there.

I will be doing my yearly trivia event later this week (I'm sure they have weekly bar trivia somewhere in the city, but I"m not much of a bar type. This is a yearly event run by some Toastmaster friends of mine, which is how I always hear about it). My wife is much like you in terms of knowledge base and Jeopardy! gets. She still always accompanies me to these things, even though she doesn't have to - it's not about getting the trivia right, its about fun. And she says she always learns stuff too, so for someone who always says he wants to learn how, try it and don't be disappointed with your result (even though, unlike playing at home, there is rewards involved for doing well). At least you like reading Uncle John's all the time, that's a good way to learn. Try getting more of those (my sister got me some more for my birthday last year that I"m trying to go through.)

And yes, I'm psyched about my annual trivia event. One of my regular teammates is one of the only Winnipeggers to appear on the show, so I can hide my relative ignorance by having a "ringer" like him on. )

[1stlvlthinker]

Are we really doing this again?

My bad. I did say I was going to stop.

[1stlvlthinker]

Start reading a lot of cliffs notes. Or read USA Today. They have a lot of 200 word articles that skim the surface on the topic. Get the main idea, move on.

Or...read a book?

Looking for some way to know the answer is Lord of the Flies? Read the book.

Trying to figure out if it's Hemingway? Read Hemingway.

Etc.

All of these things are rewarding in their own right, whether the show existed or not. If TPH is not willing to read a book, and he doesn't seem to be, then do not expect him to learn anything. He's either the internet's longest-running troll (in which case: kudos), or he's lazily ignorant and happy to be that way (except when he's watching Jeopardy).

But where would I begin? There are literally millions of books that could be the right place to start! What if I start with the wrong book?

[CailinGaoilge]

In this case, TPH doesn't seem to grasp the simple concept that addition and subtraction are inverses of each other.

That I get. The problem I keep running into is 1100-556=X. Okay, X+556=1100, solve for X. Subtract 556 from both sides, and we're right back where we started from with 1100-556.

He also consistently asks "WHY" are we doing this, or talking about adding "random numbers" to get to the answer.

Because I was never taught "add up incrementally to get to where you're going". I was only taught that adding this to this equals this, or subtraction requires borrowing.

Here's a hint. Where we are going and where we are coming from are in the context of the question.

Huh?

Okay. Seriously.... We start at 556 and keep adding until we get to 1100. That's what I mean by contextual clues here. And don't blame your previous schooling at this point. You're (presumably) an adult, it's time to start learning on your own.

Here's what I mean from this. You're getting to the problem X + 556 = 1100. So let's try that, without any borrowing.

556
+ abc (abc represents the digits of a 3 digit number)
-------
1100

In order to get to the 0 in the ones place, what can we add to 6 to get there? This is not random. We're trying to get to 0 in the ones place. Repeat with the other digits and you'll get your answer.

This does require understanding of that a ones place, tens place, and hundreds place actually mean.

FYI: while I would never wish to give the impression of attempting to diagnose a condition over the internet (and in any case I'm not an educational psychologist, though I have been in the position in a previous career of receiving reports from these professionals in order to determine academic accommodations), I think it's quite likely that TPH may have dyscalculia. His comments in relation to mathematics calculations sound eerily similar to reports describing dyscalculia - and I also have mild dyscalculia myself. I'm very familiar with the sense of paralysing fear that comes over me if I'm required to make a calculation (even very simple addition) under pressure. Even the explanations given in this thread, with large numbers thrown about all over the place, lead more to stress than to clarity.

Dyscalculic adults also can find it hard to remember names and dates, and I can attest to that - I may know very well who wrote a particular book or recorded a specific song, but under pressure my mind can go blank some of the time. It also sounds as if TPH encounters similar challenges with these.

[Bamaman]

So this is going to be a thread that just contains the same comment, repeated over and over?

This was the sixth post in this thread from November 20, 2014. I think he pretty much nailed this prediction.

[badgerfellow]

So this is going to be a thread that just contains the same comment, repeated over and over?

This was the sixth post in this thread from November 20, 2014. I think he pretty much nailed this prediction.

Over 2 years on this thread alone, but the questions probably go further back. TPH, you must enjoy the show a lot to watch almost every night and then go on a Jeopardy discussion board, where many former and prospective members attempt to answer your questions, as silly and frustrating as they are to you and for us. Honest question to it all: why? After all of these comments, most would be disheartened and quit.

[dhkendall]

FYI: while I would never wish to give the impression of attempting to diagnose a condition over the internet (and in any case I'm not an educational psychologist, though I have been in the position in a previous career of receiving reports from these professionals in order to determine academic accommodations), I think it's quite likely that TPH may have dyscalculia. His comments in relation to mathematics calculations sound eerily similar to reports describing dyscalculia - and I also have mild dyscalculia myself. I'm very familiar with the sense of paralysing fear that comes over me if I'm required to make a calculation (even very simple addition) under pressure. Even the explanations given in this thread, with large numbers thrown about all over the place, lead more to stress than to clarity.

Dyscalculic adults also can find it hard to remember names and dates, and I can attest to that - I may know very well who wrote a particular book or recorded a specific song, but under pressure my mind can go blank some of the time. It also sounds as if TPH encounters similar challenges with these.

No need to play armchair psychiatrist, TPH has said himself that he has dyscalculia. He also doesn't seem to know that the rest of us (barring maybe one or two) don't

[TenPoundHammer]

I think part of it is something that I noticed over the past few days.

See, a friend recently recommended a game to me called Enter the Gungeon. For those not familiar, it's a combination of roguelike and bullet-hell. I'm not very good at video games in general, and this one is quite difficult even for people who are far more skilled than I. On the other hand, I am at least passingly familiar with roguelikes because I play a lot of FTL, and Undertale familiarized me with the mechanics of bullet-hell games. Certainly on more familiar ground than in my attempts to play, say, Skyrim.

But after struggling a long time, I started getting to the point where I could at least get to the first boss regularly. I actually got pretty close to defeating the first boss. I was so anxious that I kept playing anyway, desperately trying to get back to that boss so I could defeat him. I did get close a couple times, but after a while, it was so frustrating that I gave up and threw the mouse at the wall in frustration. I was still absolutely livid when I woke up the next morning. Because I was actually making progress in a game. I was getting better and more comfortable with it. And I was wanting to get even better yet, but my attempts to improve were only causing me so much frustration that I just kept doing worse and worse.

And I think it's the same way with Jeopardy! I get at least one Lach Trash on nearly every episode. Other times, I either crush a category that's in my wheelhouse, or surprise myself by holding my own in a category that I didn't expect. Or even just a single clue that makes me go, "wow, how did I know that?" If for nothing other than bragging rights, there's part of me that wants to learn -- if you can believe that. I ask WLT and "How do you know this" all the time because I want to know. But any attempt to make me actually learn just falls flat because I'm so horrible at actually learning, just frustrating me and making me backslide horribly in my attempts to do so.

[twelvefootboy]

TPH:

I'm still a newbie and maybe I'll flame out or maybe I'll keep going, but I am enjoying this guilty pleasure of watching the games, keeping score, and the Monday morning quarterbacking here. I doubt if the routine will last as long as it has for many of the members here. I'm sure being on the show is a life changing event, whether you win or get smoked, and you are part of a small club. I too, could be elevated to "not Jeopardy material", but that esteemed title is taken.

Props to the Moderators and the membership for keeping this a troll free zone. I wonder if they have to ban many members, or the intellectual and collegial environment is self filtering.

Props to you for your passion for the game. You are a character amongst many characters, and the world needs characters.

OK - my actual reason to post was curiosity - how did you select Ten Pound Hammer for your avatar? Now I'm thinking a google search would find your avatar, but you might as well explain it. My handle is obvious from my photo. It just happened that I cleared twelve feet pole vaulting for the first time on the same day that we first got internet at work and the IT guy asked me for an email handle. I didn't plan on being stuck with it but it easily filters my work from my play.

My guess - you are a country music fan, and this is a derivative of one of my favorite standards, Nine Pound Hammer. If you don't know it, check it out, especially Merle Travis' rendition. It's one of the 3 songs I learned to play Chet Atkins style with the thumbpick.

I wonder if anyone would be interested in a separate thread to reveal their own avatar/handle choices? Maybe there's been several already? If this attracts any clicks, maybe the mods would approve one?

tfb

[bpmod]

It's buried a few pages deep, but there was a thread called Your Screenname: What inspired it? or something to that effect.

Brian

[BobF]

It's buried a few pages deep, but there was a thread called Your Screenname: What inspired it? or something to that effect.

Brian

Interesting who were some of the first people to answer. A guy who got kicked off of JBoard for sending odd messages to women (Legend Never Dies), a guy who got caught cheating in TDs (esrever). And then you also have TenPoundHammer, the late Paucle and a bunch of other people who continue to be good boardies. (Didn't mean to exclude TPH from that group, just stream of consciousness typing.)

[TenPoundHammer]

OK - my actual reason to post was curiosity - how did you select Ten Pound Hammer for your avatar? Now I'm thinking a google search would find your avatar, but you might as well explain it. My handle is obvious from my photo. It just happened that I cleared twelve feet pole vaulting for the first time on the same day that we first got internet at work and the IT guy asked me for an email handle. I didn't plan on being stuck with it but it easily filters my work from my play.

My guess - you are a country music fan, and this is a derivative of one of my favorite standards, Nine Pound Hammer. If you don't know it, check it out, especially Merle Travis' rendition. It's one of the 3 songs I learned to play Chet Atkins style with the thumbpick.

To quote what I said in the "what inspired your username" thread:

Title of an obscure country song that I just thought sounded screen-name-y. I used it when I first registered for Wikipedia 9 years ago… holy crap, have I really been on Wikipedia that long?!… and it stuck. Sometimes in other places, I use "Twentington" (a made-up number from a "Numberwang" sketch on That Mitchell and Webb Look) or "Tehshigelisok" (a nonsense word I saw in a Super Mario World hack). In fact, I used the latter here early on because someone thought that poaching my username would a be a good way to lock me out.

My avatar is an otter-like Pokémon called Dewott. I'm a bit of a Pokémon fan, and otters are my favorite animal.

[twelvefootboy]

Thanks, bpmod, bobf and tph!

I just pissed away a half hour of my workday . (mission accomplished) The old thread had some great stories and was a good read. I'm still learning how to negotiate the HTML so I can quote pieces without stringing long threads, so I didn't attempt to thread this response.

My next wish will be to see how y'all manage your game viewing. I'm not going to diminish my enjoyment by being strict; sometimes I pause the clue, sometimes I take credit because they answer so quick I would have gotten there also, and half the time I'm distracted. I treat it like my golf game; after I've hit 3 or 4 balls out from under trees, I'm done practicing that shot and I'm just going to move it where I can hit a real golf shot. At least I'm not hitting rolled up hedgehogs with a swan club (or however that story went). Anyhow, I'm sure there's an old thread about that, but I'll chase it down later...

thanks, and keep claven-ing

[AFRET CMS]

Thanks, bpmod, bobf and tph!

I just pissed away a half hour of my workday . (mission accomplished) The old thread had some great stories and was a good read. I'm still learning how to negotiate the HTML so I can quote pieces without stringing long threads, so I didn't attempt to thread this response.

My next wish will be to see how y'all manage your game viewing. I'm not going to diminish my enjoyment by being strict; sometimes I pause the clue, sometimes I take credit because they answer so quick I would have gotten there also, and half the time I'm distracted. I treat it like my golf game; after I've hit 3 or 4 balls out from under trees, I'm done practicing that shot and I'm just going to move it where I can hit a real golf shot. At least I'm not hitting rolled up hedgehogs with a swan club (or however that story went). Anyhow, I'm sure there's an old thread about that, but I'll chase it down later...

thanks, and keep claven-ing

If you really want to keep an accurate score, record the game. When you watch the recording, keep your remote in your hand and use the pause button as your "signalling device." If you pause, it means you've rung in and have to answer within 15 seconds, right or wrong. If you don't pause, it's a "no ring" and you get no score even if you find out you knew the answer when it's revealed. It's a better way to play at home than using a pen or something as a "clicker" and trying to get your answer out before the contestant's.

[dhkendall]

Thanks, bpmod, bobf and tph!

I just pissed away a half hour of my workday . (mission accomplished) The old thread had some great stories and was a good read. I'm still learning how to negotiate the HTML so I can quote pieces without stringing long threads, so I didn't attempt to thread this response.

My next wish will be to see how y'all manage your game viewing. I'm not going to diminish my enjoyment by being strict; sometimes I pause the clue, sometimes I take credit because they answer so quick I would have gotten there also, and half the time I'm distracted. I treat it like my golf game; after I've hit 3 or 4 balls out from under trees, I'm done practicing that shot and I'm just going to move it where I can hit a real golf shot. At least I'm not hitting rolled up hedgehogs with a swan club (or however that story went). Anyhow, I'm sure there's an old thread about that, but I'll chase it down later...

thanks, and keep claven-ing

If you really want to keep an accurate score, record the game. When you watch the recording, keep your remote in your hand and use the pause button as your "signalling device." If you pause, it means you've rung in and have to answer within 15 seconds, right or wrong. If you don't pause, it's a "no ring" and you get no score even if you find out you knew the answer when it's revealed. It's a better way to play at home than using a pen or something as a "clicker" and trying to get your answer out before the contestant's.

I could do that but I'm now wired to repeatedly press the buzzer / clicker that useing pause as such will be counterproductive, especially if I click it an even number of times. (Plus, what's the threshold for ringing in? Personally as long as I answer before the contestant, even if a millisecond before, I count it.

[davey]

Thanks, bpmod, bobf and tph!

I just pissed away a half hour of my workday . (mission accomplished) The old thread had some great stories and was a good read. I'm still learning how to negotiate the HTML so I can quote pieces without stringing long threads, so I didn't attempt to thread this response.

My next wish will be to see how y'all manage your game viewing. I'm not going to diminish my enjoyment by being strict; sometimes I pause the clue, sometimes I take credit because they answer so quick I would have gotten there also, and half the time I'm distracted. I treat it like my golf game; after I've hit 3 or 4 balls out from under trees, I'm done practicing that shot and I'm just going to move it where I can hit a real golf shot. At least I'm not hitting rolled up hedgehogs with a swan club (or however that story went). Anyhow, I'm sure there's an old thread about that, but I'll chase it down later...

thanks, and keep claven-ing

If you really want to keep an accurate score, record the game. When you watch the recording, keep your remote in your hand and use the pause button as your "signalling device." If you pause, it means you've rung in and have to answer within 15 seconds, right or wrong. If you don't pause, it's a "no ring" and you get no score even if you find out you knew the answer when it's revealed. It's a better way to play at home than using a pen or something as a "clicker" and trying to get your answer out before the contestant's.

Surely the period before "time's up" is a lot shorter than 15 seconds? I have, I sheepishly admit, given myself that much time occasionally (I use my remote to pause as you suggest) but I doubt we'd get away with that on the show.

[BobF]

Thanks, bpmod, bobf and tph!

I just pissed away a half hour of my workday . (mission accomplished) The old thread had some great stories and was a good read. I'm still learning how to negotiate the HTML so I can quote pieces without stringing long threads, so I didn't attempt to thread this response.

My next wish will be to see how y'all manage your game viewing. I'm not going to diminish my enjoyment by being strict; sometimes I pause the clue, sometimes I take credit because they answer so quick I would have gotten there also, and half the time I'm distracted. I treat it like my golf game; after I've hit 3 or 4 balls out from under trees, I'm done practicing that shot and I'm just going to move it where I can hit a real golf shot. At least I'm not hitting rolled up hedgehogs with a swan club (or however that story went). Anyhow, I'm sure there's an old thread about that, but I'll chase it down later...

thanks, and keep claven-ing

If you really want to keep an accurate score, record the game. When you watch the recording, keep your remote in your hand and use the pause button as your "signalling device." If you pause, it means you've rung in and have to answer within 15 seconds, right or wrong. If you don't pause, it's a "no ring" and you get no score even if you find out you knew the answer when it's revealed. It's a better way to play at home than using a pen or something as a "clicker" and trying to get your answer out before the contestant's.

If your goal is to someday get on the show, I find this method to be counterproductive. It would be similar to me hitting a ton of homers off of my son's pitching and thinking I could hit a major leaguer's pitch.

If your goal is just to gauge your knowledge base, then this method seems just fine.

Also, according to Wikipedia, the time limit is 5 seconds from when you ring in.

[AFRET CMS]

Thanks, bpmod, bobf and tph!

I just pissed away a half hour of my workday . (mission accomplished) The old thread had some great stories and was a good read. I'm still learning how to negotiate the HTML so I can quote pieces without stringing long threads, so I didn't attempt to thread this response.

My next wish will be to see how y'all manage your game viewing. I'm not going to diminish my enjoyment by being strict; sometimes I pause the clue, sometimes I take credit because they answer so quick I would have gotten there also, and half the time I'm distracted. I treat it like my golf game; after I've hit 3 or 4 balls out from under trees, I'm done practicing that shot and I'm just going to move it where I can hit a real golf shot. At least I'm not hitting rolled up hedgehogs with a swan club (or however that story went). Anyhow, I'm sure there's an old thread about that, but I'll chase it down later...

thanks, and keep claven-ing

If you really want to keep an accurate score, record the game. When you watch the recording, keep your remote in your hand and use the pause button as your "signalling device." If you pause, it means you've rung in and have to answer within 15 seconds, right or wrong. If you don't pause, it's a "no ring" and you get no score even if you find out you knew the answer when it's revealed. It's a better way to play at home than using a pen or something as a "clicker" and trying to get your answer out before the contestant's.

If your goal is to someday get on the show, I find this method to be counterproductive. It would be similar to me hitting a ton of homers off of my son's pitching and thinking I could hit a major leaguer's pitch.

If your goal is just to gauge your knowledge base, then this method seems just fine.

Also, according to Wikipedia, the time limit is 5 seconds from when you ring in.

I used the "pause button" method in practice for my appearance. It was one of the few useful tips I got out of reviewing Jennings's "Brainiac" after I got "The Call."

Chief benefit I got was improving ring-in decisions -- over a couple of weeks, my ratio of ring-but-wrong to no-rings improved, and that was a major goal. I kept track of no-rings I actually guessed right along with ring-ins that were incorrect. If I got the right answer on more than half my no-rings, I pushed myself to be a little more aggressive when I wasn't sure and was dithering a bit.

The major disadvantage I found is that there is a very slight, almost imperceptible delay between pressing the pause button and the DVR actually freezing. It turned out that in trying to freeze the frame the instant AT was finished speaking, I was actually training myself to ring in a microsecond too early. Once on set, I wound up locking myself out of the first couple of questions until I adjusted my thumb timing.

Overall, though, I found it to be a useful practice techniques, and I think I derived some benefit from it.

Your five second statement does seem more reasonable than my original fifteen. I think that's about the time it takes the signal lights on the lectern to disappear. Maybe it just seems longer subjectively. I know when I was keyed up, it seemed like I processed a LOT of info during the think music. The wonders of adrenaline ......