Search found 40 matches

by Steve Watchorn
Sat Feb 15, 2014 1:13 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2014 SCT: specific questions
Replies: 50
Views: 11006

Re: 2014 SCT: specific questions

I think the wording on C is just a little confusing. If you are asking for "reduced Planck('s) constant," then having the last sentence in C. just muddies the waters (in my opinion). Almost reflexively, I complete it with "Planck('s) constant," even though that is clearly not wha...
by Steve Watchorn
Tue Feb 08, 2011 5:53 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: talk about individual questions here
Replies: 124
Views: 24024

Re: talk about individual questions here

-Ligands: This one was frustrating. In the first line, you're describing the crystal field splitting parameter (or ligand field splitting parameter), and saying "a splitting parameter associated with these entities". I buzzed in an said "d orbitals" because the ligand field spli...
by Steve Watchorn
Sun Feb 06, 2011 5:21 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: talk about individual questions here
Replies: 124
Views: 24024

Re: talk about individual questions here

re: Ethnic History of the Vilnius Region Once I get my hands on the set, I might be able to comment a little more, but yeah, there were a few times as a mod that I felt put into a bind on the prompting/accepting answers side. One tossup that I thought fit this description was the DI one on unemploym...
by Steve Watchorn
Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:37 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Welcome to the 2011 SCT discussion
Replies: 9
Views: 1801

Re: Welcome to the 2011 SCT discussion

By the way, never mind my post about wanting to be added to this thread. Sorry!
by Steve Watchorn
Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:36 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: SCT discussion forum access
Replies: 5
Views: 2172

Re: SCT discussion forum access

I would like to be added to that forum as well.
by Steve Watchorn
Wed Jun 23, 2010 1:36 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2009-10 NAQT IS sets: question-specific discussion
Replies: 42
Views: 12958

Re: 2009-10 NAQT IS sets: question-specific discussion

Good point about distinguishing from bad quiz bowl hoses. I see what you mean.
by Steve Watchorn
Wed Jun 23, 2010 12:31 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2009-10 NAQT IS sets: question-specific discussion
Replies: 42
Views: 12958

Re: 2009-10 NAQT IS sets: question-specific discussion

Another issue with that Last Supper painting is that here we have a set of questions that is meant to be introducing players to pyramidal quizbowl and this tossup doesn't even say what it's asking for until the end. I'm not sure that's an argument against pyramidality, as long as the clues are (at ...
by Steve Watchorn
Sat Jun 05, 2010 8:01 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2010 HSNCT discussion thread
Replies: 194
Views: 51249

Re: 2010 HSNCT discussion thread

As the author of that just-mentioned question, I would like to point out that the answer was actually "infinity," of which "axiom of infinity" was the first clue (and acceptable as an answer until other clues were given). For completeness, here is the full question: The "axi...
by Steve Watchorn
Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:36 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2010 HSNCT discussion thread
Replies: 194
Views: 51249

Re: 2010 HSNCT discussion thread

Perhaps "resonant frequency" or simple harmonic oscillation could have been fashioned into a middle part on the RLC question. My hindsight is kicking in...
by Steve Watchorn
Tue Jun 01, 2010 8:38 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2010 HSNCT discussion thread
Replies: 194
Views: 51249

Re: 2010 HSNCT discussion thread

I was responsible for the RLC circuits question. Here it is in full, by the way: For 10 points each--answer the following about series RLC circuits under alternating current: A. Because the average value of current in such a circuit is zero, the current and voltage are typically described by this ty...
by Steve Watchorn
Sun May 30, 2010 11:26 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2010 HSNCT discussion thread
Replies: 194
Views: 51249

Re: 2010 HSNCT discussion thread

Actually, that question never mentioned the sieve of Eratosthenes. It mentioned that the sum of twin prime reciprocals converged, as proven using sieve theory by Viggo Brun (a reference to Brun's theorem). An easy mistake to make in the heat of the match, though, especially at this level.
by Steve Watchorn
Sun Mar 14, 2010 6:59 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Universal Pronunciation Guide
Replies: 51
Views: 13905

Re: Universal Pronunciation Guide

In physics, and probably other subjects, as well, there is also the issue that there is sometimes a "common" pronunciation that everyone knows, which is not the true pronunciation. This is especially true for proper names. A common example is "Huygens," which I had always heard p...
by Steve Watchorn
Mon Mar 08, 2010 1:30 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Answer lines and moderator errors
Replies: 31
Views: 5904

Re: Answer lines and moderator errors

So, an unusual thing happened which caused Carleton to beat Wisconsin.

Seems like I never left. Are those tinfoil hats still around?
by Steve Watchorn
Sun Feb 28, 2010 7:53 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Science Players
Replies: 4
Views: 6779

Re: Science Players

Yes to both Peter and Matt, as Susan mentioned. Before Peter showed up at Chicago, even with Andrew there, we could always count on a hundred or so points playing them based on stealing physics, at least (then we'd only lose 655 - 200). That ended with Peter's arrival. And in the 2003 Chicago Open s...
by Steve Watchorn
Sun Feb 28, 2010 4:40 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: ELVIS
Replies: 27
Views: 23365

Re: ELVIS

Additionally, there was, at some point in the shadowy history of Elvis, an associated pie-eating contest (this was a late lamented thing as early as 2000). I believe in 1997 or 1998 there was pie-eating contest at halftime of the semi-finals, between the four remaining teams, and the winner receive...
by Steve Watchorn
Sun Feb 28, 2010 9:32 am
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: ELVIS
Replies: 27
Views: 23365

Re: ELVIS

Actually, for several years, Mark Zimmer edited the tournament on his own. I was with UW quiz bowl for about six productive years in grad school, and I only edited the tournament once, in 2000 (with a packet swap that didn't go quite as planned). I also remember it, though, as the first tournament I...
by Steve Watchorn
Thu Feb 18, 2010 4:56 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Better options available
Replies: 31
Views: 5047

Re: Better options available

This is not a solution to this problem, or to any problem, really, but it's something that's been occurring to me while I've looked at this forum. I wonder if it might make sense for NAQT to transition back to having writer numbers in sets--better yet, writer names. Generally, people who are seriou...
by Steve Watchorn
Tue Feb 09, 2010 4:41 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: timer delenda est
Replies: 57
Views: 7711

Re: timer delenda est

I wasn't meaning to fault the editors with my previous comment. It was inspired by realizing that, looking at my questions which made it in the set, and perusing those of others, I found that the 500-character tossups were by and large pretty ok. But several of especially my 425 character ones seeme...
by Steve Watchorn
Tue Feb 09, 2010 9:39 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: timer delenda est
Replies: 57
Views: 7711

Re: timer delenda est

Since it is an ancillary issue to the timer, and because it has been mentioned in passing several times, perhaps this is the best place for me to ask about tossup question length. It sounds like there is a general feeling that tossup length was pretty good in both DI and DII. However, in DI, it was ...
by Steve Watchorn
Tue Feb 09, 2010 9:30 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Welcome to the 2010 SCT discussion.
Replies: 228
Views: 37011

Re: Welcome to the 2010 SCT discussion.

Hi Kyle... I almost wrote a Tea Party tossup, but couldn't get it into shape (the exact problem I was having was the nebulous definition and origin of the term). Another writer was able to take it on, though. Nonetheless, from my brief research, I believe the consensus is that "teabagging,"...
by Steve Watchorn
Tue Feb 09, 2010 9:24 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Welcome to the 2010 SCT discussion.
Replies: 228
Views: 37011

Re: Welcome to the 2010 SCT discussion.

I think the typography clue does have a place in a Woody Allen tossup as an opening clue (his distinct credit font is a defining characteristic), but only as the opening clue in a much longer question, and without having to spend time talking about the typographer. The trouble is that for anyone who...
by Steve Watchorn
Mon Feb 08, 2010 3:53 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Welcome to the 2010 SCT discussion.
Replies: 228
Views: 37011

Re: Welcome to the 2010 SCT discussion.

Round 12 had tossups that were essentially all poetry, 3/4 of which were English-language: Lovelace, Kilmer, JW Howe, and Villon. Not that this changes the point you're making, and I don't want to immediately derail that, but Villon is English-language? I thought he was French. EDIT: Maybe next tim...
by Steve Watchorn
Mon Feb 08, 2010 2:16 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Welcome to the 2010 SCT discussion.
Replies: 228
Views: 37011

Re: Welcome to the 2010 SCT discussion.

What about the awful redshift question? Using a classical test of general relativity as an initial clue, then following it up by saying "gravitational form of this effect" and finally "can be caused by differences in velocity" before explaining that it is related to the Doppler ...
by Steve Watchorn
Sun Feb 07, 2010 11:46 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Miscellaneous and Cross-disciplinary questions
Replies: 55
Views: 8261

Re: Miscellaneous and Cross-disciplinary questions

I hope I'm not telling NAQT's tales out of school, but there is usually a part of the distribution called "mixed, with popular culture," meaning a mixture of academic and PC (or sports) clues. I think it is at least as plentiful as straight "miscellaneous, academic," but that may...
by Steve Watchorn
Sun Feb 07, 2010 11:36 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Welcome to the 2010 SCT discussion.
Replies: 228
Views: 37011

Re: Welcome to the 2010 SCT discussion.

Just wanted to drop back in to thank Jerry for the fact that my brains are now splattered out the back of my skull, from slapping my head so hard over how I *should* have worded the permutation intro. Operation, not entity. That would have set that on much more of the right course. In addition to my...
by Steve Watchorn
Sun Feb 07, 2010 7:40 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Welcome to the 2010 SCT discussion.
Replies: 228
Views: 37011

Re: Welcome to the 2010 SCT discussion.

Notes off the top of my head (no questions in my hands): Without text or expert knowledge, I'm not sure, but was the beta-decay tossup even unique to beta-minus? I got negged for beta, and I'm honestly unsure if that's correct. I did not write that question, but I did read it while doing a topic ch...
by Steve Watchorn
Sun Feb 07, 2010 7:37 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Welcome to the 2010 SCT discussion.
Replies: 228
Views: 37011

Re: Welcome to the 2010 SCT discussion.

I am responsible for the questions concerning transistors Nathaniel and Jerry have discussed: Old Man of the Mountain wrote:For Part A, I have two widely used textbooks in semiconductor physics that say the answer is electrons. My class notes for a Solid State Physics class also says this. Which tex...
by Steve Watchorn
Wed Sep 02, 2009 3:01 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2008-2009 NAQT IS sets: question-specific discussion
Replies: 87
Views: 13099

Re: 2008-2009 NAQT IS sets: question-specific discussion

So, 4 to 5 years after writing the questions, 1-3 years after they were used, and nearly a full month after the preceding discussion, I slink in the back door to claim responsibility for both the misleading "De Motu" Torricelli question and the IS 66 mitzvah question (actually, I just got ...
by Steve Watchorn
Wed Feb 25, 2009 4:07 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: SCT Private Discussion Forum
Replies: 129
Views: 22701

Re: SCT Private Discussion Forum

Oops. I guess I should've checked back here first, instead of just waiting for confirmation. Re-registered as "coverdude" with a different email address.
by Steve Watchorn
Fri Feb 13, 2009 3:00 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: SCT Private Discussion Forum
Replies: 129
Views: 22701

Re: SCT Private Discussion Forum

I created an account, as swatch71.
by Steve Watchorn
Mon Jul 23, 2007 9:30 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Cancel Bowl 7 - July 21, 2007
Replies: 10
Views: 6225

Thanks to everyone who made this tournament happen. It was exactly what a midsummer guerrilla-edited trash tournament should be, and I enjoyed it immensely.
by Steve Watchorn
Tue Apr 17, 2007 8:04 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: NAQT ICT 2007 discussion
Replies: 127
Views: 59081

With the usual and frustrating caveat that I do not speak for NAQT, I want to let you know that at least one semi-regular (more regular recently) NAQT writer has read and tried to listen to these responses. I was directly responsible for the placement of the spin-2 clue in the graviton question; it ...
by Steve Watchorn
Tue Apr 18, 2006 2:45 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Call for hosts for summer East Coast tournament
Replies: 13
Views: 5922

If I am not traveling at the time, I would be very interested in either playing or staffing.
by Steve Watchorn
Sun Mar 05, 2006 6:03 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Brandeis Wirt Mirror (Jack Abramoff memorial graft open) 3/4
Replies: 6
Views: 4332

In lieu of Dan, who is most likely getting some well-deserved rest as I type, I'll make the brief announcement of results for yesterday's tournament. Four teams braved sunny skies and reasonably warm temperatures to attend Brandeis's Wirt mirror yesterday, for a very collegial and enjoyable tourname...
by Steve Watchorn
Wed Feb 15, 2006 5:07 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: THE thread for NAQT SCT discussion
Replies: 99
Views: 57481

OK, I lied. This is my last note for now... though it's more of an opinion: NAQT clearly needs to write a lot of questions to satisfy their various obligations. I have been one of the more active writers during the last few years (though I have had to take long breaks), and I have written under a th...
by Steve Watchorn
Wed Feb 15, 2006 4:55 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: THE thread for NAQT SCT discussion
Replies: 99
Views: 57481

One more note, and I hope I'm not giving away too much about NAQT's internal mechanisms: NAQT keeps a large repository of questions, and draws from them as needed. In cases where a lot of questions have been written, for a given subject, that store can be quite large. It is not uncommon, when lookin...
by Steve Watchorn
Wed Feb 15, 2006 4:48 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: QUESTION SPECIFIC Thread for NAQT SCT
Replies: 31
Views: 18677

Hi, Chris . You beat me to my next comment, which I forgot to give earlier, about opera questions. I am certainly no classical music buff, but I also enjoy opera questions that include some clues about the arias, or notable dances, or music of the opera. And I wanted to say that it is, in fact, the ...
by Steve Watchorn
Wed Feb 15, 2006 4:40 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: THE thread for NAQT SCT discussion
Replies: 99
Views: 57481

re: Jerry : One more suggestion: I think NAQT should consider lengthening the halves from 9 minutes to 10 or even 11. Four more minutes of playing time per round translates into a mere extra hour for a 15-round tournament, but could easily accomodate 26 5-line tossups, which I think would lead to be...
by Steve Watchorn
Wed Feb 15, 2006 4:30 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: THE thread for NAQT SCT discussion
Replies: 99
Views: 57481

As someone who has submitted to NAQT, I just wanted to make a brief comment about the process for submitting questions. I don't think any of the things I say will constitute state secrets of NAQT; however, if I accidentllay give away anything proprietary, feel free to lock or delete the post. The wr...
by Steve Watchorn
Wed Feb 15, 2006 4:10 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: QUESTION SPECIFIC Thread for NAQT SCT
Replies: 31
Views: 18677

Longtime reader, first-time poster: First of all: re: Paul : So first of all.. I stole a bunch of the packets. Sue me. Thief! Also, seriously, great idea for a thread. I think this sort of specific feedback helps all writers get a sense of what makes a great question in today's circuit. I wanted to ...