Who watches Jeopardy?

[L Verge]

I ran across an article on the young lady that defeated him, and she is one sharp cookie who has trained for years to be on Jeopardy. I believe this was her fourth attempt to be called in.

[David Lockmiller]

(06-04-2019 10:20 AM)L Verge Wrote:  I ran across an article on the young lady that defeated him, and she is one sharp cookie who has trained for years to be on Jeopardy. I believe this was her fourth attempt to be called in.

After the first commercial break, Alex asked Jay Sexton, the third place finisher and a senior research engineer: “Is it true, while in middle school you memorized the entire Genius Trivial Pursuit game?”

His response: “I memorized the entire first edition, yes. I was that much of a nerd.”

[L Verge]

Here's more on the female David who took down Goliath:

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/emma...03458.html

[David Lockmiller]

(06-04-2019 02:22 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Here's more on the female David who took down Goliath:

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/emma...03458.html

Her father bought books in areas of knowledge that she was weak.

[RJNorton]

This video is from CBS This Morning after James' loss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBKdT-zh4ac

[David Lockmiller]

(06-05-2019 04:09 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  This video is from CBS This Morning after James' loss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBKdT-zh4ac

Roger, did you notice two things near the end of the video (4:18), Gail King commented on both the Final Jeopardy category (she said that when Emma heard the final question category, the English major from Princeton must have said to herself "I got this") and the second thing was that all the commentators made reference to James' unusual bet at the end (if they had read my post on the subject, they would have understood the logical reasoning of James' bet).

I should like to point out for Steve that the Final Jeopardy category was selected by the Jeopardy program management and they knew Emma's educational background. Was the category selection just a coincidence? (My conspiracy theory #2.)

[RJNorton]

What I disagree with is the TV and Internet "chat" that James did not try as hard as usual. IMO, he had two tough opponents and simply lost fair and square. (My wife does not agree with me.)

[davg2000]

I think James made an intelligent bet for Final Jeopardy. He knew that he'd lose if the librarian knew the answer, no matter how much he bet. So he focused on the other contestant. Smart.

I've always wondered how the Jeopardy show defends itself against charges that its answers/questions are biased with regard to its contestants. I remember the quiz show scandals of the 50's. I think the penalties for a show cheating to promote viewer ratings were severe enough to prevent that happening today. However, that really was an English major item.

[David Lockmiller]

(06-05-2019 07:01 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  What I disagree with is the TV and Internet "chat" that James did not try as hard as usual. IMO, he had two tough opponents and simply lost fair and square. (My wife does not agree with me.)

I also disagree with the TV and Internet "chat" that James did not try as hard as usual. However, Roger, I believe that I have made a good argument that James may not have simply lost "fair and square." There is, in my opinion, some distinct possibility that the producers of Jeopardy may have "rigged" the last match with the purpose that he lose.

I believe it is true that a week of episodes are filmed in one day and thus eight contestants would have been available from which to choose for the first show of the week. And, I believe that there is the possibility that the producers selected the strongest two of the eight opponents that could have been pitted against James in the first show of the week, which James narrowly lost because of the daily doubles going to Emma.

Believe it or not, Roger and all others, I hope that I am wrong and that the contest was "fair and square" (to use Roger's words). And, I freely admit that all of my "evidence" is circumstantial and that my theory is only possibly correct. But in support of my argument, for example, Gail King in the YouTube video commented that when Emma heard the Final Jeopardy question category, the English major from Princeton must have said to herself "I got this." Emma was obviously the stronger of the two opponents against James and no doubt the Final Jeopardy category favored her the most of all three contestants because of her college education (which the producers of the show must have been well aware).

The other opponent did pretty well in the second round (Alex commented on this) which in and of itself was an additional detriment to James being able to catch up to Emma before the Final Jeopardy question. Thus, Emma had more chips on the table at the end and that precluded James from being able to win if both James and Emma answered the Final Jeopardy question correctly.

With my statements made herein, I intend no disrespect to anyone with a different view of the matter.

[Thomas Kearney]

Since the Quiz Show scandals in the 1950's the United States Government has been required to monitor all game shows to make sure they are not rigged or fixed. Sony Pictures released a statement yesterday saying they have a good idea of who was responsible for the leaked video and there will be consequences. James is scheduled to return in November for the Tournament of Champions, I'm betting he will win the Tournament.

[L Verge]

I agree with Thomas, and I also think that Holzhauer was drawing in such a good audience for the show that they would not rig it to let him go. Millions of viewers were hoping to see him top Ken Jennings, and the producers would ride that horse to the finish line if at all possible.

When you read the details about the lady's longtime interest, educating herself to the intricacies of the game, writing a Master's thesis on how to win, etc., doesn't it just seem reasonable that she could win without any help from anyone else? James played the strategy of chance, and she played the strategy of sheer knowledge.

[David Lockmiller]

(06-05-2019 10:28 AM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  

(06-05-2019 07:01 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  What I disagree with is the TV and Internet "chat" that James did not try as hard as usual. IMO, he had two tough opponents and simply lost fair and square. (My wife does not agree with me.)

I also disagree with the TV and Internet "chat" that James did not try as hard as usual. However, Roger, I believe that I have made a good argument that James may not have simply lost "fair and square." There is, in my opinion, some distinct possibility that the producers of Jeopardy may have "rigged" the last match with the purpose that he lose.

I believe it is true that a week of episodes are filmed in one day and thus eight contestants would have been available from which to choose for the first show of the week. And, I believe that there is the possibility that the producers selected the strongest two of the eight opponents that could have been pitted against James in the first show of the week, which James narrowly lost because of the daily doubles going to Emma.

Believe it or not, Roger and all others, I hope that I am wrong and that the contest was "fair and square" (to use Roger's words). And, I freely admit that all of my "evidence" is circumstantial and that my theory is only possibly correct. But in support of my argument, for example, Gail King in the YouTube video commented that when Emma heard the Final Jeopardy question category, the English major from Princeton must have said to herself "I got this." Emma was obviously the stronger of the two opponents against James and no doubt the Final Jeopardy category favored her the most of all three contestants because of her college education (which the producers of the show must have been well aware).

The other opponent did pretty well in the second round (Alex commented on this) which in and of itself was an additional detriment to James being able to catch up to Emma before the Final Jeopardy question. Thus, Emma had more chips on the table at the end and that precluded James from being able to win if both James and Emma answered the Final Jeopardy question correctly.

With my statements made herein, I intend no disrespect to anyone with a different view of the matter.

Upon further consideration, I withdraw this claim I made against the producers of Jeopardy. I am in possession of too little information in support of my claim.

[Gene C]

David, I have a continued and growing respect for you for the comment you made above.

[David Lockmiller]

An answer to James Holzhauer's "strange" bet, "straight from the horse's mouth":

Here’s how the final episode went down:

Holzhauer went into Final Jeopardy with $23,400, which was $3,200 behind leader Emma Boettcher. Holzhauer got the question right, at first glance, strangely wagering just $1,399. That would have taken him to $24,799, which was $1,801 behind Boettcher.

But Holzhauer explained to The Action Network that he first was concerned with the contestant in third place, who had $11,000 heading into a Final Jeopardy. Doubling down would have gotten that contestant to $22,000, which would have been $1 less than if James would have missed. If James doubled down, he would have been at $46,800, but Boettcher seemed to have done the math perfectly as well. She got the question right and wagered $20,201, which gave her $46,801, a dollar more than what Holzhauer would’ve earned with a double-down bet.

“I knew I could only win if Emma missed Final Jeopardy, as there was no way she wouldn’t bet to cover my all-in bet,” Holzhauer told The Action Network. “So my only concern was getting overtaken by third place, and I bet just enough to make sure of locking him out. Betting big would have looked good for the cameras, but now I turn my straight bet (Emma misses) into a parlay (Emma misses and I get it right).”

[Steve]

David,
I found this website may be of interest to you:

https://thejeopardyfan.com/