tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401280171563686515.post5674566187988665237..comments2024-03-12T12:54:32.926-07:00Comments on Life After Mastermind: Mastermind - Round One - Heat 4Londiniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07871325359167581176noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401280171563686515.post-47838878032578235592014-09-12T04:29:30.459-07:002014-09-12T04:29:30.459-07:00I was a contender on MM in 2011 and wondered about...I was a contender on MM in 2011 and wondered about this myself after my appearance.<br /><br />The reason being was that myself and one other contender each received SS 18 questions while the other 2 contenders each received 15 SS questions.<br /><br />This seemed like a big difference to me so I went back over the "tape" and timed the rounds.<br /><br />What I found was interesting...<br /><br />...there was VERY LITTLE difference in the length of questions asked to all 4 of us - the average times per SS question were, respectively, 5.83 seconds, 5.78 secs, 5.88 secs and 5.89 secs.<br /><br />The reason why two contenders received 3 fewer questions was entirely down to the time taken to answer.<br /><br />If you hesitate for even a second, on average, in your answers, this (based on an average of ~6 seconds per question) will cost you about 3 questions in a 2 minute SS round.<br /><br />Horsey_Heroes11https://www.blogger.com/profile/13210340772795053472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401280171563686515.post-44341402359932196652014-09-09T10:59:38.925-07:002014-09-09T10:59:38.925-07:00Another question is the unfairness involved in Hum...Another question is the unfairness involved in Humphrys repeating, or rewording, some perfectly correct answers and thus depriving some contestants of valuable seconds. <br /><br />An example would be his 'Joan of Arc' after Lena Gazey had said 'Jeanne d'Arc'. Since translating a French name into English makes it less, not more, correct, one can only assume that this was done for the benefit of the audience, and not to help Ms Gazey in any way.Stephen Followshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00241893861868075325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401280171563686515.post-22361907382161640242014-09-06T14:52:02.397-07:002014-09-06T14:52:02.397-07:00Hi Dasyprus and welcome to LAM. During my appearen...Hi Dasyprus and welcome to LAM. During my appearences on the show the production went to great lengths to assure each of us that the questions and the optimum answers were always rigourously timed to ensure that each contender, answering at the same speed, should receive the same number of questions. <br /><br />I too sometimes think that contenders have received notably fewer questions than others, but I have no reason to disbelieve what I was told on the show - in all honesty it can be quite difficult to judge with great accuracy how fast or slow a contender may be going. Remember, it isn't just the interval between the end of the question and the start of the answer, it's also the length of answer and the speed with which it is given. <br /><br />Hope that this goes some way towards answering your question.Londiniushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07871325359167581176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401280171563686515.post-71058817653422594512014-09-06T13:13:03.748-07:002014-09-06T13:13:03.748-07:00Perhaps you or one of your readers can answer a co...Perhaps you or one of your readers can answer a concern that has come up a couple of times in my house: to what extent is the length of questions controlled across contenders? Because in this episode it seemed striking that Graham Gowland received only 11 (or maybe 10) questions, where Mike Foden was given 14 to answer; and Gowland did not seem to be answering noticibly slowly.<br /><br />Any insight would be most welcome!<br /><br />-R, a regular reader from Ontario, CanadaDasypushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15443627972445757866noreply@blogger.com