University Challenge Round Two - Hertford, Oxford v. UCL

The Teams

Hertford, Oxford

Ollie Sourbut

Omer Keskin

Daniel Whittle (capt.)

Rupavardhini Balakrishnan Raju

UCL

James Hall

Ali Izzatdust

Tayana Sawh (capt.)

Jacob Finlay

Amol kicked this off with a tribute to Omer Keskin’s 8 starters in the first round. Careful there, Amol. That sort of thing can affect a team’s performance. Then moving onto UCL he praised their BCR (Bonus Conversion Rate) of 70%. It’s the first time I can recall a host ever mentioning this. Maybe Amol is a secret LAM reader? Sir, if so, I’m honoured.

The first question was fun. It was clear we were looking for an ancient Greek poet. Nobody moved as the question progressed, then, as soon as Amol said the pronoun ‘her’ both Daniel Whittle and Ali Izzatdust reached for their shooting irons. The Hertford skipper won that shoot out to answer Sappho. France and Wales in the Middle Ages brought me a full house and two correct answers to Hertford. The next starter asked for a Manchu capital. Jacob Finlay gambled early and lost five. Omer Keskin, living up to Amol’s pre match praise gave the correct answer of Mukden. Which come to think of it is a good description of my student room in the mid-80s. I was delighted to see that the next set of bonuses was on the architect Charles Holden – most of my favourite London Underground stations were designed by this great man. I took my second full house, and Hertford again took two. Ali Izzatdust won the buzzer race on the next starter to identify various places linked by the name Marlborough. Chess notation did for me – I only got the one, while UCL claimed a full house. Omer Keskin struck back for Hertford with Paracelsus ( or as I once heard him called, Parcels r’ Us). I considered taking a lap of honour for getting two astronomy bonuses right on the set that followed, but decided to roll the dice and let it ride. Hertford took a full house on these. For the picture starter Ali Izzatdust identified that the treaty ending the 1812 war was signed in the city shown on the map. Fair play. 3 more cities that gave their names to peace treaties brought a correct answer and the first time that UCL notably threw away a correct answer which was on the table. Now, for the next starter I don’t know much about cricket’s golden age, but decades ago I read an excellent book about the golden age of US comics, so I knew that these two words would be the answer. So did Ali Izzatdust, who was really earning his corn on the buzzer in this match. Bernhard Tauchnitz – yes, gesundheit – and his collection of authors brought us both a full house. This meant that the teams were very close at the 10 minute mark – with Hertford leading by 65 – 60.

The next starter on psychology and neuroscience provided the opportunity for my internal orchestra to strike up with the strains of the Baby Elephant Walk (see below) . Me? Not a scooby, and neither team could get the term executive dysfunction. Ali Izzatdust recognised the subjects of poems by Pablo Neruda. UCL quite rightly took a full house on a very gentle set on Greek mythology. James Hall buzzed in for the next starter with the answer Bose-Einstein Condensate – which was named after a 1970s Prog Rock group, I believe. 2 bonuses on Somaliland stretched the UCL lead. Omer Keskin tried to stop the rot with an early buzz for the next starter, but made a rare error, allowing James Hall to zag with Slovenia while he had zigged with Slovakia. The set of bonuses on optics that followed had nothing to do with pub measurements, but UCL got them all the same. From being five points behind, UCL now had more than double Hertford’s score. So to the music set. Eventually Ollie Sourbut recognised the work of Richard Wagner. Three more preludes for solo instruments brought two correct answers for both of us. With the next starter Daniel Whittle beat Ali Izzatdust’s dramatic lunge for the buzzer. This earned them a set on people with the surname Luria. One bonus reduced the gap to one full set. I’d guess that all last night’s players were too young to know much about Calypso music, but Trinidad and Tobago was the big clue on that starter.  James Hall came in too early and lost five of the precious lead. With the next starter my decision to let the lap of honour ride was vindicated when I beat Ali Izzatdust to identify Boole as the polymath who outlined a form of Algebra. The US Historian Mike Davis brought two bonuses – could have been a full house as Amol pointed out. Omer Keskin came in early with the Winter Queen or the next starter. Recent novels brought ten points, which meant that as we hit the twenty minute mark the gap was wider than it had been ten minutes previously, though not by much since UCL led by 140 – 120.

Ali Izzatdust – who else? – made the connection between New York state and Sicily with Syracuse. Questions on the Scientist Krebs – wasn’t he Jock Ewing’s illegitimate son in Dallas? – brought just the one bonus. For the second picture starter we saw a giant stone head. ‘Olmec!’ shouted I. James Hall sounded a little less sure when he buzzed in with the same but we were both right. Other historical artifacts yielded nowt. Jacob Finlay knew that good old quiz chestnut about Emma Lazarus who wrote the New Colossus, inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty. Ethics as presented on the website Existential Comics – no, me neither – brought just the one bonus. But UCL were winning the buzzer races now. Especially with Ali Izzadust on such imperious form. He took another starter with -micro – earning a set on the British-Bangladeshi choreographer Akram Khan. They didn’t get any of them but they were still pulling away from Hertford again. Omer Keskin knew that painter Louis Wain was the cat man. The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp (which I can promise you is far more interesting and popular than The English Lessons of Mr. Clark) brought two bonuses, but the clock was running down. Especially when Jacob Finlay identified Sana Marin as a Finnish politician. It was finnish as far as Hertford were concerned. Porridge provided UCL with 2 bonuses, but they were already beyond the event horizon. Skipper Tayana Sawl hammered this home knowing the abbreviation M.E.T. There was time for them to pick up one bonus on the US Bone Wars, before the gong ended the contest with the scores at 225 – 140 to UCL.

In the end, UCL outbuzzed Hertford, not the least of which being the 7 starters contributed by the excellent Ali Izzatdust. Hertford can take consolation from an excellent BCR of 71, while UCL managed 56. Buzzing like that, though will always give you a chance, whatever your bonus conversion rate. A good match between two very useful teams.

How is Amol Doing?

There was a one strange comment Amol made. When both teams made wrong suggestions to the Calypso question he replied, “What are you guys listening to for a living?!” I do not pretend to understand what he meant. For a living? Who listens to things for a living, and why accuse the teams of doing so ?

I’m half thinking that when Amol issued encouragement to Hertford, saying ‘three and a half minutes to go, Hertford, plenty of time’ he was being deliberately ironic.

Interesting Fact That I Didn’t Already Know Of The Week

The word cosmopolitan ultimately derives from the Greek for citizen of the world.                                                                                   

Baby Elephant Walk Moment

In psychology and neuroscience what two word term is used to denote disruption of those cognitive processes that manage and control other cognitive processes leading to deficiencies in planning, abstract thinking and behavioural control. It is closely associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and may also be caused by stroke, brain injury or dementia. Dum de dumdum dum dum dum dum dumdum.