Search found 45 matches

by conquerer7
Wed Jun 19, 2013 8:40 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2013 NASAT Set & Tournament Discussion
Replies: 57
Views: 15298

Re: 2013 NASAT Set & Tournament Discussion

Excellent set! The only gripe I have is that answerline difficulty varied too much, at least in science. It felt like the set was being written by two people with very different philosophies -- on one hand you have A-set level answerlines like "work", "mutations", "torque&qu...
by conquerer7
Fri Jun 07, 2013 1:24 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: ProtoBowl
Replies: 367
Views: 183761

Re: ProtoBowl

Ugh, that's a huge logical fallacy. High Tech is not magically good because you all use Protobowl, it's good because, due to the nature of your school, you have a sufficient number of intelligent people who care enough to spend their time studying quizbowl. The problem with all these protobowling p...
by conquerer7
Thu Jun 06, 2013 11:35 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: ProtoBowl
Replies: 367
Views: 183761

Re: ProtoBowl

Well, I studied with Protobowl extensively, as have a bunch of our best players. For, really, our second year existing as a quizbowl team, the results look alright to me! As for the freshmen that use it, they are genuinely improving, not "good" but leagues better than they were in September.
by conquerer7
Thu Jun 06, 2013 10:58 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: ProtoBowl
Replies: 367
Views: 183761

Re: ProtoBowl

High Tech has used ProtoBowl to enormous effect; I can't think of anything that's helped our school's program more. Given that we were supposed to have completely disappeared after our one-man A team graduated last year, and we ended up with two t33 teams at HSNCT and regularly have 3 teams in the t...
by conquerer7
Mon May 13, 2013 6:27 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: I'm making [yet another] new high school quizbowl ranking
Replies: 55
Views: 21304

Re: I'm making [yet another] new high school quizbowl ranking

It's pretty encouraging that both rankings put High Tech A, B, and C in around the same place! 40/42/90 vs. 50/60/121, same thing but scaled a bit larger. That's surprisingly similar, actually.

Maybe it'd be cool if someone looked to see the major differences between this ranking and the other.
by conquerer7
Fri May 10, 2013 10:24 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Steps to Conquering the Math Canon?
Replies: 13
Views: 9361

Re: Steps to Conquering the Math Canon?

Most of the stuff you're missing is combinatorics / number theory; I've done pretty well based on competition experience and generally hearing "math lore" at places like Mathcamp and MOP. There's also a self-reinforcing aspect: competition people, like Max, tend to write questions based on...
by conquerer7
Sun Apr 07, 2013 8:48 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: San Diego Academic League Dissected
Replies: 2
Views: 2097

Re: San Diego Academic League Dissected

These questions are indeed terrible and your post is a good thing, and I agree with everything in the 1st post. I'm going to throw out some constructive criticism, though. You might want to be careful... from my perspective, sometimes it seemed you tried a bit too hard to find something wrong with a...
by conquerer7
Thu Apr 04, 2013 7:03 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: New Jersey NASAT Try-Outs in April
Replies: 22
Views: 7571

Re: New Jersey NASAT Try-Outs in April

I'm very interested in Science and sorta interested in Literature.

Will there definitely be six people on the team? What if one of the generalists wins a specialist competition, or somebody wins two?
by conquerer7
Mon Apr 01, 2013 9:17 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NJ NASAT
Replies: 29
Views: 7991

Re: NJ NASAT

High Tech A in general is pretty interested (though we've been shadowing each other PPG-wise all year). Personally, I would love another science tryout -- that was the most fun I had all year! Maybe it'd be useful to have a tryout on art/RMP, or generally everything-but-history-and-science?
by conquerer7
Mon Mar 11, 2013 8:21 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: New Jersey Discussion 2012-13
Replies: 28
Views: 9082

Re: New Jersey Discussion 2012-13

I'd like to publicly apologize to St. Joe's for what we put them through during LIST at Columbia, where they basically played our school the whole day: Prelims: High Tech D, plus 4 others Playoffs: Hunter A, High Tech C, Bergen A, High Tech B, Ridgewood, High Tech A Semifinals: High Tech A Finals 1:...
by conquerer7
Mon Mar 11, 2013 8:11 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NJ NASAT
Replies: 29
Views: 7991

Re: NJ NASAT

Same question. Will it be same as last year, 4 people by agreement and a science tryout? Or more tryouts / less?
by conquerer7
Sun Mar 10, 2013 11:23 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: General Discussion
Replies: 14
Views: 3059

Re: General Discussion

As an ultra-specialist who didn't even recognize most of the answerlines outside of math and physics, after the first few rounds, I thought it played great. Many of the questions were obviously written by true experts. Overall, the set had a sort of subversive feel to it, which was very nice. It's g...
by conquerer7
Mon Feb 25, 2013 12:47 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: BATE Tournament-March 2, 2013 at Bloomfield High School
Replies: 6
Views: 3143

Re: BATE Tournament-March 2, 2013 at Bloomfield High School

^ rest assured, it won't be, which is why there are only two for this one.
by conquerer7
Sat Feb 23, 2013 6:49 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: LIST Mirror @ Columbia University (3/9/13)
Replies: 19
Views: 9594

Re: LIST Mirror @ Columbia University (3/9/13)

With so many teams on the waitlist, is there any possibility of a field expansion? We might be able to provide several buzzers, or some readers, if that's the limiting factor.
by conquerer7
Mon Feb 11, 2013 7:41 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Nature of Studying
Replies: 53
Views: 22768

Re: Nature of Studying

You can't go wildly using clues from organic chemistry for regular season difficulty questions at the high school level, because 99% of high school students will have no exposure to ochem. This thread has really gone far off the original intent (probably was a bad idea to drag in science bowl), but...
by conquerer7
Sun Feb 10, 2013 7:17 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Nature of Studying
Replies: 53
Views: 22768

Re: Nature of Studying

The goal is NOT FOR QUESTIONS TO GO DEAD IN THE NAME OF REAL KNOWLEDGE!!! Seriously, guys? That's like me complaining that I read Arrowsmith two years ago and "OMG all these Sinclair Lewis questions are so easy why don't they ever toss up Max Gottlieb in an HSAPQ set." Lord, I never wante...
by conquerer7
Sun Feb 10, 2013 12:16 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Nature of Studying
Replies: 53
Views: 22768

Re: Nature of Studying

The CKM matrix explains several reactions mediated by this interaction, which Cronin and Fitch showed... This interaction is described by an extension of the GIM mechanism, the CKM matrix, and an experiment... The CKM matrix explains decays due to this type of interaction... The CKM matrix describe...
by conquerer7
Sat Feb 09, 2013 10:32 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Nature of Studying
Replies: 53
Views: 22768

Re: Nature of Studying

I'm by no means saying that this is how anybody should study, but the fact is that most of my points at tournaments come from stupid things like this. I have spent plenty of time learning things "for real", but that probably won't fetch more than a question or two. While I'm on my soapbox,...
by conquerer7
Sat Feb 09, 2013 10:29 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Nature of Studying
Replies: 53
Views: 22768

Re: Nature of Studying

I skimmed over the past few posts and people don't seem to believe this, so let's throw out some associations. Commutator - Heisenberg uncertainty principle (there are a million other things this could mean in both math and physics, but at the high school level...) Clebsch-Gordan - angular momentum ...
by conquerer7
Fri Feb 08, 2013 11:02 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Nature of Studying
Replies: 53
Views: 22768

Re: Nature of Studying

I guess that I'll preface my post by saying that I know absolutely nothing outside of math/physics, and if I was any worse, I'd be buzzing in with Ronald Rixen or something. Max, first, to satisfy your curiosity, I admit Hooke's law really is a bad example. There probably aren't any good science bow...
by conquerer7
Fri Feb 08, 2013 7:26 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Nature of Studying
Replies: 53
Views: 22768

Nature of Studying

You can get okay with memorizing clues, but to really get great, you have to get deep: read poems, listen to music, go see paintings, read piles of history books. That's a great thing. Let's compare two tossups: 7. This work makes a distinction between chance and probability and describes how events...
by conquerer7
Sat Jan 26, 2013 11:25 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: ProtoBowl
Replies: 367
Views: 183761

Re: ProtoBowl

Well, that's why our school has a room just for our team. The lobby is terrible... At times, our room has expanded in improv matches to include several of the best NJ quizbowlers. I imagine the same goes for a lot of other good teams. Going a different direction from Ben, I've found it valuable simp...
by conquerer7
Wed Dec 19, 2012 4:31 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: HSQBRank 2012-2013: No, I do not mean HSA Bank
Replies: 138
Views: 150105

Re: HSQBRank 2012-2013: No, I do not mean HSA Bank

Well, now that our C team is on, I can complain! Newtown and Yale FaCT are their stats, not ours; they were marked as A since they were the only team that went. Hopefully this'll improve both our ranks.
by conquerer7
Tue Dec 18, 2012 7:31 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NY/NJ Date Claims 2012-2013
Replies: 107
Views: 620940

Re: NY/NJ Date Claims 2012-2013

Any word on the Ranney tournament? Our school already has people lining to sign up!
by conquerer7
Thu Nov 29, 2012 6:55 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Scarsdale Tournament -1/5/13- in Scarsdale, NY
Replies: 55
Views: 17675

Re: Scarsdale Tournament -1/5/13- in Scarsdale, NY

High Tech is confirmed for 4 teams (A/B/C/D, no 'Seasia' or whatever) and 1 buzzer system.
by conquerer7
Sun Nov 18, 2012 10:20 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: The SJHS Mirror of GSAC XX, December 15, 2012
Replies: 37
Views: 14977

Re: The SJHS Mirror of GSAC XX, December 15, 2012

High Tech can send 5 teams (huge interest in this tournament!); one of our buzzer systems may need repair, but we'll definitely bring the other.
by conquerer7
Mon Nov 12, 2012 6:21 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Scarsdale Tournament -1/5/13- in Scarsdale, NY
Replies: 55
Views: 17675

Re: Scarsdale Tournament -1/5/13- in Scarsdale, NY

Pending administrative approval, High Tech will bring 3-4 teams and 2 buzzer systems. This includes Team Seasia. (if we don't get approval, we'll bring 2-3 teams, including Seasia, unofficially; no buzzers)

Edit: we are approved.
by conquerer7
Mon Nov 12, 2012 6:21 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: The SJHS Mirror of GSAC XX, December 15, 2012
Replies: 37
Views: 14977

Re: The SJHS Mirror of GSAC XX, December 15, 2012

High Tech will bring 2-4 teams and 2 buzzer systems.
by conquerer7
Sat Nov 03, 2012 3:09 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Possible date switch of S. NJ NHBB (@ MonDon on 11/17)
Replies: 4
Views: 1489

Re: Possible date switch of S. NJ NHBB (@ MonDon on 11/17)

11/17's not too good for High Tech; there's both a Model UN conference (which might be a major problem for you) and PUMaC, the Princeton math competition (though barely any quizbowlers do math, anyway). 3/5 of our normal A team is out.
by conquerer7
Sun Oct 28, 2012 11:59 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: New Jersey Discussion 2012-13
Replies: 28
Views: 9082

Re: New Jersey Discussion 2012-13

For anybody looking at FAcT results, the High Tech team there that won was more or less High Tech C, not A. They're very good in their own right, and deserve to be ranked separately.
by conquerer7
Sat Oct 27, 2012 2:42 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2013 NAQT HSNCT: Congratulations LASA!
Replies: 109
Views: 69143

Re: 2013 NAQT HSNCT: May 25-26, Atlanta

A question about qualification: if we want to send 3 teams, does that mean we need all three of them in the top 15% in one tournament? Can A/B qualify in one tournament, and A/C qualify in another? Do you track anything about a school besides the number of teams qualified? There's a good chance we'l...
by conquerer7
Sun Oct 21, 2012 7:44 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: LIFT XII - IS-120 - 10/20/12 - Uniondale, NY
Replies: 30
Views: 10633

Re: LIFT XII - IS-120 - 10/20/12 - Uniondale, NY

Does this tournament qualify for HSNCT?
by conquerer7
Wed Oct 17, 2012 9:13 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: ProtoBowl
Replies: 367
Views: 183761

Re: ProtoBowl

I have sort of the reverse problem: I can play with somebody in the same room, and we can see each other online, but we'll effectively be in different rooms: we'll have different questions and not be able to see each other buzz. Somehow they can see my chat messages, and I can't see theirs.
by conquerer7
Fri Oct 12, 2012 3:43 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: ProtoBowl
Replies: 367
Views: 183761

Re: ProtoBowl

I keep opening up Chrome on my school's computers and finding Protobowl in the 'most visited sites' homepage thing. The room we made for our school is still going strong after a month, with god knows how many other 1v1 rooms created. It's incredible!
by conquerer7
Thu Sep 13, 2012 3:48 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: LIFT XII - IS-120 - 10/20/12 - Uniondale, NY
Replies: 30
Views: 10633

Re: LIFT XII - IS-120 - 10/20/12 - Uniondale, NY

High Tech (NJ) is interested, but we don't know the number of teams yet (depending on freshman interest / transportation). We're bringing 1-4 teams and 2 buzzer systems.
by conquerer7
Thu Sep 13, 2012 3:19 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Seton Hall Prep Pirate Open (Sept. 29, 2012 - W. Orange, NJ)
Replies: 44
Views: 16521

Re: Seton Hall Prep Pirate Open (Sept. 29, 2012 - W. Orange, NJ)

High Tech (the one in southern NJ) will be coming with 3-4 teams and 2 buzzer systems.
by conquerer7
Wed Aug 29, 2012 1:52 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: ProtoBowl
Replies: 367
Views: 183761

Re: ProtoBowl

This is the best thing I've ever seen. Trying to look for any problems, not seeing any. Edit: okay, after playing for a half hour, the only shortcomings I can think of are -sometimes the answer lines required are a bit weird (it'll want both first name and last name when the first name is the most f...
by conquerer7
Tue Jul 10, 2012 1:19 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 3 Day Ridgewood Summer Invitational: July 6-8, Ridgewood, NJ
Replies: 168
Views: 82176

Re: 3 Day Ridgewood Summer Invitational: July 6-8, Ridgewood, NJ

/ducks under flaming arrows and tossed farm animals I edited chem/physics/math, didn't come on Sunday, and didn't even bother looking at anything non-science, so I doubt I'm qualified to say anything about the set as a whole. Once this furor dies down, I would appreciate if somebody could go through...
by conquerer7
Thu Apr 12, 2012 3:22 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: # of Distinct Answer Lines in HS Regular Difficulty?
Replies: 5
Views: 1544

Re: # of Distinct Answer Lines in HS Regular Difficulty?

After learning a lot of regular expressions to make sure no duplicates got left behind, I accidentally deleted the file. So I got frustrated and just redid it quickly; the actual numbers are probably about 90% of the ones below: http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/217/wehjkttht.png The differences ar...
by conquerer7
Thu Apr 12, 2012 12:52 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: # of Distinct Answer Lines in HS Regular Difficulty?
Replies: 5
Views: 1544

Re: # of Distinct Answer Lines in HS Regular Difficulty?

Alright, I'll go write something up to do that. Just from a cursory look, Math and Social Science seem to have the least unique /total, while Trash has the most.
by conquerer7
Thu Apr 12, 2012 12:25 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Painfully Easy Giveaways
Replies: 30
Views: 9609

Re: Painfully Easy Giveaways

Categories don't need to be made easier because no one is willing to learn about it. If you don't know literature, then you don't know literature. The category doesn't need to be made easier for you. Then I don't think you can't accurately judge the difficulty of said category. But this discussion ...
by conquerer7
Thu Apr 12, 2012 11:59 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: # of Distinct Answer Lines in HS Regular Difficulty?
Replies: 5
Views: 1544

# of Distinct Answer Lines in HS Regular Difficulty?

I've been doing HS science on quizbowldb for the past few weeks, and judging from the frequency of repeats, I would guess that there are about 500 possible answer lines for "regular" difficulty HS science (I collected 450 in total, but a lot of those were from things like NASAT). I also re...
by conquerer7
Thu Apr 12, 2012 11:47 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Painfully Easy Giveaways
Replies: 30
Views: 9609

Re: Painfully Easy Giveaways

Alright, I realize I was talking about something different- I'm talking more about the answers themselves than the ten point lines. The ten point lines for those science tossups are totally reasonable given what the answers are. I don't understand why a character in a book the typical high schooler ...
by conquerer7
Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:40 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Painfully Easy Giveaways
Replies: 30
Views: 9609

Re: Painfully Easy Giveaways

On a tangent, does anybody else think that ridiculous giveaways are way more common for science tossups than in any other field? Let me quote the science giveaways for HFT round 1: ...which is contrasted with the Y chromosome. ...for two by two matrices, is equal to the difference of the products of...