Search found 74 matches

by AuguryMarch
Thu May 15, 2014 3:53 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Quiz Bowl Survivor: 50 Buzz, 49 Neg
Replies: 169
Views: 139263

Re: Quiz Bowl Survivor: 50 Buzz, 49 Neg

Another topic that has not been discussed yet is Penn Bowl--several people asked me to post about my Penn Bowl memories, so here it is. (edited this, as Ezequiel pointed out I mixed up years) I never played high school quizbowl, so for me, not only was Penn Bowl the largest college tournament I've p...
by AuguryMarch
Mon Apr 28, 2014 4:20 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Quiz Bowl Survivor: 50 Buzz, 49 Neg
Replies: 169
Views: 139263

Re: Quiz Bowl Survivor: 50 Buzz, 49 Neg

Also, I can't remember now, but that might have been the first tournament at which we were introduced to the charms of Monical's in scenic Rantoul, Illinois. The sight of Subash grandly ordering a Monical's waitress to bring another round of pepperoni pockets (or whatever the things were called) is...
by AuguryMarch
Fri Apr 25, 2014 8:44 am
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Quiz Bowl Survivor: 50 Buzz, 49 Neg
Replies: 169
Views: 139263

Re: Quiz Bowl Survivor: 50 Buzz, 49 Neg

Ok, since I've been asked to recount the Kleist and Artaud, here you go.... The Kleist was the culmination of the "Summer of Paul", a Seinfeldian and Berdichevskian attempt by me to get good at quizbowl and bite into a block of cheese like an apple. With incoming freshman phenom Ben Heller...
by AuguryMarch
Wed Apr 16, 2014 2:06 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Litvak's law
Replies: 6
Views: 2509

Re: Litvak's law

that is fantastic. Perhaps it should just be "a single question". I haven't seen the ICT thread but someone told me it devolved into a long argument on [a science related thing].

[Edited because ICT technically isn't clear--sorry, Paul!]
by AuguryMarch
Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:32 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Litvak's law
Replies: 6
Views: 2509

Litvak's law

Recently historical musings brought me back to the board and once again I noticed a phenomenon that I hope will become known as Litvak's law:

As any tournament discussion grows longer, the probability of it devolving into an extended argument about a single science question approaches 1.
by AuguryMarch
Wed May 01, 2013 12:47 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ACF Nationals 2013 Discussion
Replies: 129
Views: 36452

Re: ACF Nationals 2013 Discussion

George Stigler: Stigler did not invent frictional unemployment, contrary to what Wikipedia says. Indeed, Wikipedia's citation for that claim itself refers to earlier work of Hicks and others. I also don't know what Stigler's namesake law is or how it could possibly state that "all demand curve...
by AuguryMarch
Tue May 08, 2012 8:18 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Ask a Harvest Bowl survivor and ACF co-founder anything
Replies: 41
Views: 39041

Re: Ask a Harvest Bowl survivor and ACF co-founder anything

Just to add more evidence for Andrew's story--at ACF Nationals in 2003 at Georgia Tech, Gordon Carper himself watched us play a round. Afterwards he told Ezequiel that he was glad someone still reads the works of Herbert Marcuse. He also told us the same story about the reason why ACF was 20/20--and...
by AuguryMarch
Mon May 07, 2012 3:32 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Ask a Harvest Bowl survivor and ACF co-founder anything
Replies: 41
Views: 39041

Re: Ask a Harvest Bowl survivor and ACF co-founder anything

Ah yes! There it is--
"The problem revolved mainly around the fact that we didn't write enough questions. Other than that, what was _so_ wrong?"

That is simply superb.

Thanks Mike!
by AuguryMarch
Mon May 07, 2012 2:59 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Ask a Harvest Bowl survivor and ACF co-founder anything
Replies: 41
Views: 39041

Re: Ask a Harvest Bowl survivor and ACF co-founder anything

I wasn't at Harvest Bowl, but I believe that one of the attendees (John Nam maybe?) told me that Shawn Pickrell reportedly defended himself by saying something to the effect of, "It was a perfectly fine tournament except the lack of questions."

I felt that was too amusing not to share.
by AuguryMarch
Wed Apr 21, 2010 8:57 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ACF Nationals Comments
Replies: 52
Views: 10099

Re: ACF Nationals Comments

I have a few things to have about the tournament in retrospect, some of which will be a bit redundant (stealing my thunder, subash!) But first, I wanted to announce my official retirement from editing/playing quizbowl (I was already in semi-retirement before, but this tournament will surely do it fo...
by AuguryMarch
Thu Apr 15, 2010 11:19 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: A Very Special Event Following ACF Nationals
Replies: 3
Views: 1625

Re: A Very Special Event Following ACF Nationals

Just to add some details to Andrew's announcement. The panel will last roughly 1-2 hours depending on the volume of interest and questions. We plan on making sign up sheets available at registration. If you would like to ask a question, we request that you email them to Leo Wolpert at least 24 hours...
by AuguryMarch
Fri Aug 14, 2009 8:59 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Past Tournaments as the "Basis" of Quizbowl Knowledge
Replies: 52
Views: 13260

Re: Past Tournaments as the "Basis" of Quizbowl Knowledge

This is a really interesting thread on a topic that some of us fogeys have been discussing for a while. I just want to throw my two cents here for some context. I think what you are seeing now resulting from the focus on old packets is the consequence of a strategy that doesn't scale. The analogy I ...
by AuguryMarch
Sat Apr 25, 2009 4:18 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ANNOUNCEMENT: ACF Nationals at WUSTL (Apr 25-26, 2009)
Replies: 85
Views: 67202

Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: ACF Nationals at WUSTL (Apr 25-26, 2009)

ok, my curiosity is piqued... what is going on at this tournament?

round delays? the worst run acf nationals in history I believe has to be georgia tech 03... is 09 in the running?
by AuguryMarch
Thu Mar 05, 2009 9:45 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Concept tossups in the social sciences
Replies: 40
Views: 7797

Re: Concept tossups in the social sciences

I don't know where I got the "cognitive label, or its quality" line.. it seems a bit incoherent to me now. It makes sense, as the "cognitive label" is more or less how we describe the "quality" according to that theory (you're more of an expert, so you can correct me i...
by AuguryMarch
Wed Mar 04, 2009 10:10 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Concept tossups in the social sciences
Replies: 40
Views: 7797

Re: Concept tossups in the social sciences

1.Sartre discussed it in a 1939 work in which he analyzed it phenomenologically, describing it as “a magical transformation of the world.” One account of it argues that it is comprised of intensity combined with a cognitive label, or its quality. Another theory holds that it originates in the thala...
by AuguryMarch
Thu Aug 21, 2008 11:01 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Quizbowl and copyright
Replies: 18
Views: 3843

Re: Quizbowl and copyright

hey, as someone who wrote a fair share of the packets of yore, here's a totally mundane idea that I think everyone can agree on. what if when you went on the acf/stanford/whatever archive every packet had the authors and editors written at the top. i'm sure many of you out there have tournaments you...
by AuguryMarch
Fri May 02, 2008 5:39 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: memory question
Replies: 9
Views: 2417

memory question

Hey all, Just wondering if anyone has ever heard of supermemo (article on the inventor in wired here: http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/ff_wozniak?currentPage=all), software based on the spacing effect (Ebbinghaus, fuck yeah!) which can be used to aid memorization. Has anyone in qb ...
by AuguryMarch
Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:54 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ICT Discussion
Replies: 102
Views: 22239

Re: ICT Discussion

My friend Brick Barrientos (who you may know from his longstanding service to this great nation of ours in the SEC) was deeply saddened at the historical revisionism rampant on this board. Maryland's 1981 title was the only ray of light that sustained players like Ramesh Kannappan, John Nam, and Dav...
by AuguryMarch
Mon Feb 11, 2008 11:46 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Private Sectionals Discussion Forum Signup and Access
Replies: 94
Views: 17762

jc_lavater_facials
by AuguryMarch
Tue Jan 01, 2008 9:10 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: MLK 2008
Replies: 34
Views: 11582

Ray wrote:i had to go on wikipedia to find out what that means but that doesnt change the fact that YOUR GOING DOWN PAUL
YOUR A DUMBASS RAY SUN I WILL PWN U
by AuguryMarch
Tue Jan 01, 2008 6:28 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Hey: stop running high school tournaments for colleges
Replies: 68
Views: 20786

But the current generation has produced a heck of a lot of really good stuff too. Have there been occasional snafus, misjudgments, people taking on more than they can handle, etc.? Sure. I'm pretty sure that's always been the case. It's also the case that there have been a lot of victories and, mor...
by AuguryMarch
Tue Jan 01, 2008 1:20 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: MLK 2008
Replies: 34
Views: 11582

I will own Ray Sun like my ancestors owned the shtetl
by AuguryMarch
Mon Dec 31, 2007 4:22 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: a new stat
Replies: 17
Views: 7201

Ray wrote:remember when paul came up with some sort of slope coefficient heh
Ray, do YOU remember pistachios? They have a slope coefficient of 0.57, even higher than Seth Teitler's at ICT '07! Outstanding!
by AuguryMarch
Sat Apr 07, 2007 9:58 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Player Movement/Retirement Thread
Replies: 33
Views: 17366

Although I suppose I'm basically in retirement right now, I am moving from CMU to Harvard for the remainder of grad school. I might be cajoled into playing if Bruce offers me some Red Lobster.
by AuguryMarch
Mon Feb 12, 2007 4:07 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: SCT Discussion Thread
Replies: 66
Views: 30026

dude sean, i don't mean to be rude, but you are being a total asshole for no reason (not to mention dense). first of all andrew was posting to head off a discussion of exactly how many hockey questions there were and what followed. your response points out the result of his post had the ironic effec...
by AuguryMarch
Mon Jan 15, 2007 9:43 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: exit, voice and loyalty
Replies: 85
Views: 39305

exit, voice and loyalty

Taking a brief respite from this formatting discussion to post a brief meditation on the MLK. (don't worry, no actual questions mentioned) I enjoyed it, the questions etc. However, I noticed something frequent at a lot of academic tournaments. There were numerous teams in the bottom half of the fiel...
by AuguryMarch
Fri Dec 29, 2006 1:06 pm
Forum: Best of the Best
Topic: The Birth of the ACF Player
Replies: 23
Views: 33896

Can we PLEASE stop having this debate over and over? I'm not blaming you, hip swivels, but really.. we need a FAQ or someting where we can compile a list of the best posts on "Common Complaint X" so that the next time this comes we can just point to it rather than waste everyone's time and...
by AuguryMarch
Thu Dec 28, 2006 12:35 am
Forum: Best of the Best
Topic: The Birth of the ACF Player
Replies: 23
Views: 33896

Damn dude, you make quizbowl sound like a lonely enterprise. While I agree that a lot of learning happens by yourself, I think Ryan's depiction is a bit wrongheaded and demonstrates precisely what I mean about the decline in the game, charisma, big programs and all that. The thing that made quizbowl...
by AuguryMarch
Tue Dec 26, 2006 12:37 pm
Forum: Best of the Best
Topic: College quizbowl 5 years from now...
Replies: 37
Views: 47527

also, matt, if your hypothesis is true.. where are all these hardcore freshman and sophomores who were inspired by their high school experiences?
by AuguryMarch
Tue Dec 26, 2006 12:31 pm
Forum: Best of the Best
Topic: College quizbowl 5 years from now...
Replies: 37
Views: 47527

I've thought of this, and my hypothesis is that this washes out, or at least can be a negative as well as a positive.

Specifically, if you are a hardcore high school kid, you are just as likely to have had your fill of quizbowl as you are wanting more in college.
by AuguryMarch
Tue Dec 26, 2006 11:49 am
Forum: Best of the Best
Topic: College quizbowl 5 years from now...
Replies: 37
Views: 47527

College quizbowl 5 years from now...

Hey folks, In lieu of doing some tedious work, I am instead going to pose a question for you to contemplate, along with my own answer (which is actually an amalgam of the opinions of several "quizbowl luminaries"). The question is, what is the college circuit going to be like in 5 years? H...
by AuguryMarch
Sun Nov 05, 2006 10:15 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ACF Fall Commentary
Replies: 44
Views: 18018

ACF Fall Commentary

First of all, I was a TD, not a player. Second, the stats from my region will be posted soon. Those disclaimers aside, let me start with some praise. Answer selection was great. Although the pool of answers at fall really bores me, I thought my general boredom was a good indicator that the editors h...
by AuguryMarch
Fri Sep 22, 2006 8:36 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ANNOUNCEMENT: ACF Fall at Carnegie Mellon (11/04/06)
Replies: 0
Views: 1760

ANNOUNCEMENT: ACF Fall at Carnegie Mellon (11/04/06)

Carnegie Mellon University will host the Mideast? mirror of ACF Fall on November 4, 2006. Base fee: $100 Buzzer discount: $10 Staff discount: $10 Travel discount: $10 for every 200 miles traveled Packet schedule: http://www.hsquizbowl.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2603 Submitted by September 9: -$50 Su...
by AuguryMarch
Sun Jun 25, 2006 7:37 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ECSO Discussion
Replies: 18
Views: 10989

Hey, not to detract from what Jerry and Eric did or anything, but for the record, it must be noted that the questions weren't actually numbered.
by AuguryMarch
Sun Jun 25, 2006 4:08 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: East Coast Summer Open: Crime on Goat Island @ CMU
Replies: 16
Views: 11221

No.
by AuguryMarch
Sun Jun 25, 2006 1:28 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: East Coast Summer Open: Crime on Goat Island @ CMU
Replies: 16
Views: 11221

by AuguryMarch
Sun Jun 25, 2006 10:30 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: East Coast Summer Open: Crime on Goat Island @ CMU
Replies: 16
Views: 11221

Now that all the hungover people have left my apartment, I can post some things. First, I want to congratulate Michigan for winning. Second, I want to send out some hearty thanks to the people who came out to read, Ezequiel Berdichevsky, Greg Hanneman (and double shoutout to you for doing stats as w...
by AuguryMarch
Mon Jun 12, 2006 7:44 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: East Coast Summer Open: Crime on Goat Island @ CMU
Replies: 16
Views: 11221

Here an update on teams, Chicago + the indefatigable Will Turner (3) Maryland Michigan Alums Shadyside Academy U Pittsburgh Kent State Alums JasonKellerProxy Weiner and the Jets I think that's it... I'll email directions and parking info and such as the time gets closer. For those that know about th...
by AuguryMarch
Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:07 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: high school - college retention
Replies: 72
Views: 31104

high school - college retention

My recent trip to HSNCT was extremely enlightening. Aside from seeing scads of bad teams, I did have the fortune of seeing and speaking to people from a few of the good ones, one of which will likely be attending the masters tournament from CMU. Since I don't have permission, I am not going to repos...
by AuguryMarch
Fri Apr 07, 2006 4:20 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: ICT prediction thread???
Replies: 4
Views: 3664

Don't forget Texas, bitches! They love squinty-eyed Sarah! How can they not win!
by AuguryMarch
Thu Feb 16, 2006 4:20 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Algorithm for generating quiz bowl questions.
Replies: 8
Views: 5970

Boy do I already regret posting this but, Yeah yeah. I had this idea about 6 years ago. But in my version, instead of using reference sources, which everyone agrees are inconistent, it would use old tournaments. Split up every tossup into clues where difficulty is numbered and then use it to generat...
by AuguryMarch
Wed Feb 15, 2006 8:32 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: QUESTION SPECIFIC Thread for NAQT SCT
Replies: 31
Views: 18678

Alright, one more on the 1972 tossup (its a convention tossup, fine. the answer is a year, therefore I called it a year tossup). I guess it depends on what your definition of "clue" is. So assuming that it is a question on the nominating conventions of 1972, what does it matter that they w...
by AuguryMarch
Wed Feb 15, 2006 4:50 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: QUESTION SPECIFIC Thread for NAQT SCT
Replies: 31
Views: 18678

Ok, this is great. Let me respond to some of the responses. I guess I get the idea about the Jim Jones question, the facts of his life being relevant to the plot of From Here to Eternity. I still think its about as shallow a question on him as I could imagine. It basically offers a one line summary ...
by AuguryMarch
Tue Feb 14, 2006 11:50 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: QUESTION SPECIFIC Thread for NAQT SCT
Replies: 31
Views: 18678

Ok folks, lets jump to a tossup in Round 9! (I don't think I need to say more about the Peterhof or whatever) This was the last year in which the Democratic and Republican National Conventions were held in the same city, as both parties chose Miami Beach. It was the second presidential cycle in a ro...
by AuguryMarch
Tue Feb 14, 2006 9:15 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: QUESTION SPECIFIC Thread for NAQT SCT
Replies: 31
Views: 18678

Ok, I'm doing a few from Round 3 and then taking a break. It extended southward from Grodno, passed through Brest-Litovsk, and then followed the Bug [boog] River. On December 8, 1919, the Allied Supreme Council authorized the creation of a new independent nation west of it, but its status as a (*) p...
by AuguryMarch
Tue Feb 14, 2006 9:03 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: QUESTION SPECIFIC Thread for NAQT SCT
Replies: 31
Views: 18678

Round 2

The time is exactly 12:43 as shown by the squarish, black clock resting between two candlesticks on the mantle of the fireplace below a mirror. That marble fireplace is empty save for the (*) surprising appearance of a tiny train engine steaming into the room out of thin air. For 10 points—name this...
by AuguryMarch
Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:54 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: QUESTION SPECIFIC Thread for NAQT SCT
Replies: 31
Views: 18678

QUESTION SPECIFIC Thread for NAQT SCT

Ok, I am starting a new thread because I don't want this drowned out. Additionally, please keep your comments in this thread to individual question discussions only. Nothing about logistics, scorekeepers, slights to Sorice's sense of propriety, NAQT distribution, etc. Ok? So first of all.. I stole a...
by AuguryMarch
Mon Feb 13, 2006 1:45 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: THE thread for NAQT SCT discussion
Replies: 99
Views: 57482

I agree that this year's set was disappointing. One point I want to touch on is that of the "NAQT favorite topics." I think this is a serious problem that should be addressed specifically. To give one example, there was a question in this year's SCT set on Meyerbeer's L'Africaine. This is ...
by AuguryMarch
Thu Dec 01, 2005 8:53 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Robin, your challenge is accepted.
Replies: 26
Views: 16136

Leo, you get

FFFIIIIIIIIIIIFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNN
by AuguryMarch
Tue Nov 22, 2005 10:25 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: The Business of TRASH
Replies: 21
Views: 11366

I just want to clear things up about my affective state (given that I am said first poster) I was not having a bad day. For that matter, I may have come off as "angry and upset", but I was pretty deliberative in coming to the point of posting (its subject was something discussed among myse...