O.K. Here is the story. Let’s suppose that Cecil decides to showcase his prodigious intellectual talents to the world. After years of receiving all sorts of offers he agrees to go on Jeopardy.
So, the stage is set. The greatest event in T.V history captivates the attention of the world and ABC stands to make a bundle of money for the 3-day Jeopardy prime time special. But of course the T.V. execs don’t want Cecil to blow away the field. They need somebody who can pose a challenge, somebody who has game and can boost the ratings–as if Cecil’s presence wasn’t enough to guarantee a Super Bowl type audience.
To this purpose the greatest minds in the world are contacted and offered a spot on they show. They all agree but only two will be selected to comprise the 3-player field.
Among the personalities selected some stand out, for example: Marilis vos Savant, Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates. Even dead geniuses are cloned from preserved DNA to make them eligible to the challenge; among them: Isaac Asimov, Carl Sagan, Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci and a whole bunch of other intellectual luminaries.
To narrow the field and set matters straight, a international committee is formed. The committee will, of course, be integrated by the loyal legion of over 9000 dopers that roam this intellectual pastures.
So, my fellow dopers? It’s up to you to select the contestants on this historic match. Who would you like to see confront the master, and, even more importantly, who would win? Can Cecil be beaten?
Well, this sounds more like a IMHO thread, but the only one that would give Cece a run, would be Marilyn. Oh sure, if the question was about Physics, or Computers, Hawking or gates would do just fine, but for over-all knowledge, I’d have to back Cece.
I get the impression that Einstein, if not most of the people listed, would lose pretty badly on Jeopardy. Furthermore, if he did manage to make it to Final Jeopardy with a positive score, he’d absent-mindedly wager more than he had. Genius’ll do that to a person.
But if you can clone people, why not just clone Cecil?
I’m sure Da Vinci, and probably Einstein would have a lot of reading to catch up on… assuming they’re not cloned (grown from fetus to adult using tissue), but play the game as themselves, with the knowledge they possessed in life.
I hate to puncture the myth, but it seems like Cecil’s undoubted genius lies more in his ability to research and his wonderfully sardonic wit. What makes you think he would be any better on Jeopardy! than the rest of them? Alex Trebek doesn’t give style points, you know.
Isaac Asimov, for sure. The guy wrote over 400 books, on subjects as diverse as Chemistry, Astronomy, the Bible, world history, Physics, and others that I’m sure that I’m forgetting. Such diverse and extensive knowledge would be an enormous asset for a show like Jeopardy.
I agree with Gadarene: Cecil’s smart, but I don’t know how many tidbits of knowledge from various fields he might be able to recall at a moment’s notice. Of course, if there were such a thing as “Research Jeopardy!” Cecil would win hands-down.
Yeah, but how would he (or any of the clones) fare in categories such as Potpurri, the 70’s, Pop Music of the 90’s, the NBA, and other common-knowledge categories.
You have to admit, Jeopardy! is not the most difficult show on the planet (it’s harder than Millionaire, but what isn’t?). Even people who are smart by normal terms (1550+ on SAT, etc.) would give Cecil a run for his money.
I’d put money on someone like Al Franken. Not only comic wit, but vast knowledge. Stein is smart, but he makes dumb mistakes under pressure. (I know that my playing along at home isn’t really fair. I am not under the stress he is, but he still shouldn’t make some of the errors he does.)
Am I the only one who remembers that Far Side strip where it shows a game show, with God vs. some random shmoe, and God has all the points and Mr. Shmoe is at zip?
I agree that Cecil’s knowledge doesn’t seem to be in his vast range of random memorized tidbits of useless information, but in his ability to process knowledge thoroughly and intelligently. So, to that end, let’s put him on Survivor.
(That’s the only time I have ever used that show in a joke, and it’s the last time I will ever do so again).
Hm. I’d put a lot of people up against Cecil. I think he’s blessed with a great research team and good wit. Slug I can do without.
Issac Azimov would be great, along with anyone who has ever played “Quiz Bowl” in HS or College. I did, and to be honest was great at it. I know one person who appeared on one tournament years ago, and she said it was basically how fast you could buzz in more than anything.
There is only one question that needs to be answered:
What’s Cecil’s reaction time?
Why? Because it matters not how smart you are. If your reaction time is too slow, someone else will beat you to the buzzer. Or if it’s too fast, you ‘buzz in’ before the official time (Not until Alex finishes asking the question) and it won’t register… allowing the other guy to sneak in while you thumb the button repeatedly in frustration (I’ve seen quite a few people doing this on that show).
Hey, no rotten tomatoes!