Search found 57 matches

by ArnavS
Mon Jul 31, 2023 10:29 pm
Forum: Practices, Scrimmages, Online Packets, and Playtesting
Topic: Set On Very Interesting Economic Times
Replies: 3
Views: 3382

Re: Set On Very Interesting Economic Times

Yeah. We're doing a rerun of this tomorrow at 5 PM EST
by ArnavS
Thu Jul 27, 2023 9:40 pm
Forum: Practices, Scrimmages, Online Packets, and Playtesting
Topic: Set On Very Interesting Economic Times
Replies: 3
Views: 3382

Re: Set On Very Interesting Economic Times

Reminder: If you're interested, this will be held tomorrow 5 PM on Discord.

(And based on people's advice, I decided to do all tossups.)
by ArnavS
Sun Jul 09, 2023 3:50 pm
Forum: Practices, Scrimmages, Online Packets, and Playtesting
Topic: Set On Very Interesting Economic Times
Replies: 3
Views: 3382

Set On Very Interesting Economic Times

I will read 20 tossups (and ideally some bonuses) on the former USSR. This is currently tentatively scheduled for Friday 7/28 on Discord. The focus will be economics, science/math, politics, and history/art/culture broadly. (Including material culture and political jokes.) Answers to a typical bonus...
by ArnavS
Fri Jul 29, 2022 10:41 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NAQT in China-How can we fix it?
Replies: 5
Views: 2076

Re: NAQT in China-How can we fix it?

My friend's coach emailed Mr. Seth Teitler
Neither here nor there, but apparently it's Dr. Seth Teitler. Looks like he received a PhD in astrophysics in 2010.

I agree with everything else said so far.
by ArnavS
Thu Feb 10, 2022 2:21 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: 2022 NAQT SCT: Division II question-specific discussion
Replies: 8
Views: 1180

Re: 2022 NAQT SCT: Division II question-specific discussion

Shouldn't "it would probably be okay to prompt" imply a ruling of "moderator prompting was ok, and game result should not have been changed"? In cases of moderator discretion, it seems strange to actively overrule the mod's prompt. "It would probably be okay to prompt"...
by ArnavS
Tue Apr 13, 2021 7:46 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: Where Are You Going Next Year? (Collegiate 2021)
Replies: 51
Views: 49018

Re: Where Are You Going Next Year? (Collegiate 2021)

I'll be moving back to the US from Canada to start a PhD in econ at Carnegie Mellon (Tepper.)

Looks like they have a team, so looking forward to playing.
by ArnavS
Sun Apr 19, 2020 8:10 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: SUN 2020: Thanks and General Discussion
Replies: 3
Views: 473

Re: SUN 2020: Thanks and General Discussion

I really enjoyed this set. Thought it was well-calibrated difficulty-wise, with an interesting but still achievable set of answer lines.

Although one phenomenon I think we all observed is that certain pronouns can cause disproportionate confusion when they’re used in questions...
by ArnavS
Sat Apr 18, 2020 1:55 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Statistics Questions
Replies: 14
Views: 4555

Re: Statistics Questions

Maybe it's just me, then. But what were the answerlines for those?
by ArnavS
Sat Apr 18, 2020 1:25 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Statistics Questions
Replies: 14
Views: 4555

Re: Statistics Questions

This thread makes me think about how I write questions. When I think of topics for a math question, I usually default to picking one of the major subfields: analysis, algebra, topology, geometry, combinatorics/discrete, or something like that. For some reason, "statistical theory" (e.g., t...
by ArnavS
Sat Apr 18, 2020 1:04 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: A Focus On Prevention
Replies: 3
Views: 2423

Re: A Focus On Prevention

A few initial thoughts: 1. Cheating prevention necessarily demands a loss of privacy. But I don't think that's bad, in itself. We already sacrifice some autonomy to go to quiz bowl tournaments (we have to show up, not smell, refrain from being flagrantly disruptive, give up the ability to multitask,...
by ArnavS
Sat Apr 18, 2020 12:47 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: This Time, A Stern Warning
Replies: 179
Views: 146918

Re: This Time, A Stern Warning

not everyone gets the same punishment for the same crime in our criminal justice system Hold on, is this supposed to be a good thing? Who are we to say whether or not it is a good thing, but lesser penalties for first-time offenders and/or people who have a long track record of being good citizens ...
by ArnavS
Thu Apr 16, 2020 1:56 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: This Time, A Stern Warning
Replies: 179
Views: 146918

Re: This Time, A Stern Warning

I'm slightly less optimistic than you are about how that isn't suggesting a "double standard for well-connected and established players." Certainly nobody would argue that simply being good at the game entitles you to leniency. The difficulty is that a lot of the more innocuous bases are o...
by ArnavS
Tue Apr 14, 2020 4:57 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: This Time, A Stern Warning
Replies: 179
Views: 146918

Re: This Time, A Stern Warning

There's been some discussion of how cheating works differently for "elite" players (for lack of a better term) vs others. Maybe they have higher pressures, different motivations, etc. Maybe being a community luminary is a mitigating factor, maybe otherwise. As a decidedly non-elite player,...
by ArnavS
Tue Apr 07, 2020 12:32 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Which Online School are you Going to Next Year? (Collegiate 2020)
Replies: 21
Views: 11657

Re: Which Online School are you Going to Next Year? (Collegiate 2020)

My contract is up at UBC this June. Will take a gap year before starting econ PhD in 2021. Not sure what my QB situation is but I will likely be based in Vancouver.
by ArnavS
Sun Apr 05, 2020 11:44 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2020 Canadian Circuit Player Poll
Replies: 21
Views: 10150

Re: 2020 Canadian Circuit Player Poll

Unfortunately I'm not familiar enough with everyone on the circuit to submit a full 25-person ballot. But a few things: - Rein Otsason tops my staffer poll (not sure if this formally exists, but Henry mentioned it). Notably for having a screwdriver, prying open a broken buzzer, and un-breaking it. -...
by ArnavS
Tue Feb 11, 2020 4:54 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Should I quit quizbowl?
Replies: 8
Views: 5445

Re: Should I quit quizbowl?

Reviving a bit of an old thread, but just wanted to say: I'm in roughly the same boat. I was a fairly strong (NAQT) DII player, and am studying sporadically and "recreationally" to improve on DI, but my impact on teams is generally at the margin. The reason I like quizbowl, ironically enou...
by ArnavS
Sun Feb 09, 2020 5:08 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2020 Eastern Canada SCT at Toronto (8 February 2020)
Replies: 4
Views: 2798

Re: 2020 Eastern Canada SCT at Toronto (8 February 2020)

Yeah, thanks to Toronto for being a hospitable and fun site. Was great to finally bring a UBC team here. Even though nobody paid us to come.
by ArnavS
Sun Jan 26, 2020 9:06 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2020 ACF Regionals Thanks and General Discussion
Replies: 23
Views: 7819

Re: 2020 ACF Regionals Thanks and General Discussion

I was really impressed by how gettable a lot of the more arcane content seemed to be. There were many questions I was reading where I was thinking "this is 100% going dead/zeroed," but the specialists snapped it up. The math also had a nice selection (analysis, algebra, topology, diffEq, c...
by ArnavS
Sun Jan 26, 2020 9:01 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2020 ACF Regionals: Specific Questions and Errata
Replies: 66
Views: 25362

Re: 2020 ACF Regionals: Specific Questions and Errata

Another small quibble: The question about General Meade introduced the NSA far too early.
by ArnavS
Sun Jan 26, 2020 2:24 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2020 ACF Regionals: Specific Questions and Errata
Replies: 66
Views: 25362

Re: 2020 ACF Regionals: Specific Questions and Errata

Considerable confusion was caused at the British site by mentioning the "Canterbury Plain" as a clue on the Stonehenge bonus part. Stonehenge is located on the Salisbury Plain. (On a sidenote, does anyone know when the packets will be available online?) I remember reading this question, a...
by ArnavS
Sun Jan 26, 2020 2:21 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2020 ACF Regionals: Specific Questions and Errata
Replies: 66
Views: 25362

Re: 2020 ACF Regionals: Specific Questions and Errata

I think phonons were a tad over-represented in the set. Rooms I was reading for had audible groans whenever they came up. Edit: Also, I thought some of the quantitative questions were a bit weird. For ex., asking for a "magic angle" of 1.05 degrees, or the precise number of bandits in a Ch...
by ArnavS
Sat Jan 25, 2020 11:20 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2020 ACF Regionals at British Columbia (01/25/2020)
Replies: 2
Views: 2087

Re: 2020 ACF Regionals at British Columbia (01/25/2020)

Final results: Oregon beat UBC in a final after winning a play-in against UW. Capilano got 4th.

Great performances by new players at UBC.

Will post stats etc. soon. Thanks all for coming to what was possibly the first the first ACF Regs in Western Canada.
by ArnavS
Wed Jan 22, 2020 1:20 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2020 ACF Regionals at British Columbia (01/25/2020)
Replies: 2
Views: 2087

Re: 2020 ACF Regionals at British Columbia (01/25/2020)

Field for this tournament is:

UW A
Oregon A
Capilano A
UBC A
UBC B
UBC C

Looking forward to see you all on Saturday.
by ArnavS
Thu Jul 18, 2019 12:12 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Mons Mathstrosity II: Even Primes Redux [Announcement]
Replies: 29
Views: 12657

Re: Mons Mathstrosity II: Even Primes Redux [Announcement]

Has that packet been read yet?

I'd be interested in playing such a thing over Skype/Discord, if that's still in the cards.
by ArnavS
Mon Jun 03, 2019 3:56 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Early Fall Tournament (EFT)
Replies: 34
Views: 21166

Re: 2019 Early Fall Tournament (EFT)

Cool. UBC was talking about hosting. Ultimately decided we'd rather just field a team, but if there's no suitable site, we could probably host in a pinch.
by ArnavS
Sun May 26, 2019 7:57 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Early Fall Tournament (EFT)
Replies: 34
Views: 21166

Re: 2019 Early Fall Tournament (EFT)

Has the PNW site for this been decided?

(edit: sorry, saw the edits on OP... do you have a sense of where/when it usually is?)
by ArnavS
Wed May 22, 2019 1:19 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Canadian Player Poll
Replies: 44
Views: 24074

Re: 2019 Canadian Player Poll

Thanks Raymond for the shoutouts to some of our rookies. I will pass the news along, I'm sure it'll be very much appreciated.
by ArnavS
Sun May 12, 2019 6:06 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Mons Mathstrosity II: Even Primes Redux [Announcement]
Replies: 29
Views: 12657

Re: Mons Mathstrosity II: Even Primes Redux [Announcement]

All good, don't beat yourself up. I'd offer to help write the set, but that means I couldn't play it.
by ArnavS
Fri May 10, 2019 3:39 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Canadian Player Poll
Replies: 44
Views: 24074

Re: 2019 Canadian Player Poll

$209 CAD is $155 USD, which is about on the higher end for the fees for a single team at a tournament (before any discounts.) I'd just like to clarify that we charge all our tournament fees at par with USD and do not adjust for the exchange rate, so $209 CAD would in fact be a very high fee for us ...
by ArnavS
Fri May 10, 2019 3:27 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Canadian Player Poll
Replies: 44
Views: 24074

Re: 2019 Canadian Player Poll

$0.1/mile/team works out to a $209 discount for a team coming from Vancouver to Toronto, which is much more than the cost of any tournament. This is just false. $209 CAD is $155 USD, which is about on the higher end for the fees for a single team at a tournament (before any discounts.) Chicago's FS...
by ArnavS
Fri May 10, 2019 2:40 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Canadian Player Poll
Replies: 44
Views: 24074

Re: 2019 Canadian Player Poll

Just a gentle reminder that, if participation from Western Canada in this summer's batch of "Canadian circuit" tournaments is indeed a goal, then those dates should be picked sooner rather than later. It's also my understanding that there are usually travel subsidies offered to teams from ...
by ArnavS
Tue May 07, 2019 12:14 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Canadian Player Poll (For Real, This Time)
Replies: 8
Views: 7316

Re: 2019 Canadian Player Poll (For Real, This Time)

Wouldn't a player poll just for people enrolled in Canadian universities solve almost all of these eligibility problems? These rules aren't that much better than the Ontario circuit poll. Yeah, this is the optimal eligibility criterion, and it's the fix I had in mind for the Ontario poll. I deliber...
by ArnavS
Thu May 02, 2019 12:33 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Canadian Player Poll
Replies: 44
Views: 24074

Re: 2019 Canadian Player Poll

I think we need to look at the advanced stats here. How many of these players, for example, are over 180 lbs or 6'3?
by ArnavS
Tue Apr 30, 2019 9:32 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Canadian Player Poll
Replies: 44
Views: 24074

Re: 2019 Canadian Player Poll

People discussing quizbowl-related things is what the quizbowl discussion forum is for. I don't believe a semantics debate was the kind of quizbowl discussion that this thread was created to facilitate. That is immaterial. On this the board rules are clear (emphasis mine): As a result of the above,...
by ArnavS
Tue Apr 30, 2019 7:56 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Canadian Player Poll
Replies: 44
Views: 24074

Re: 2019 Canadian Player Poll

Honestly I'll probably self-fund, at least initially (and if we host another tournament in time, we could probably bring another person or two.) But we were discussing some useful ideas on Discord on how to make it feasible for teams like UBC to play in the established circuit. A special travel disc...
by ArnavS
Tue Apr 30, 2019 3:36 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Canadian Player Poll (For Real, This Time)
Replies: 8
Views: 7316

Re: 2019 Canadian Player Poll (For Real, This Time)

Formally, the eligibility criterion is similar to what it was in the poll's first iteration. That is: Also, Open players are eligible. Could you clarify this? Well what I meant is that this isn't restricted to collegiate players. Although this poll may be more of a lightning rod than I anticipated...
by ArnavS
Tue Apr 30, 2019 2:15 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Canadian Player Poll
Replies: 44
Views: 24074

Re: 2019 Canadian Player Poll

Thanks Rein for the commentary. Of course, I would point out that Western Canadian quizbowl is a part of the "Canadian quizbowl community," but we can have that discussion another time. The implications, though, go beyond "some sort of imaginary feud"; I'd say there is a generall...
by ArnavS
Tue Apr 30, 2019 2:05 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Canadian Player Poll (For Real, This Time)
Replies: 8
Views: 7316

2019 Canadian Player Poll (For Real, This Time)

(Edit: Removed a bit.) I've decided to give this a shot. If it goes well, we can adopt this format for the polls in future years. Formally, the eligibility criterion is similar to what it was in the poll's first iteration. That is: Vote for your top 25 of active collegiate players (active being defi...
by ArnavS
Mon Apr 29, 2019 9:28 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Why don't we have 1/1 math?
Replies: 59
Views: 30511

Re: Why don't we have 1/1 math?

Without responding in depth, just wanted to say that I found the last couple posts very reasonable and educational.
by ArnavS
Mon Apr 29, 2019 7:01 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Why don't we have 1/1 math?
Replies: 59
Views: 30511

Re: Why don't we have 1/1 math?

Sure, and I guess I should've anticipated what sort of minefield I waded into. For starters, I think Will's earlier list of criteria (i.e., things to think about when sculpting the distribution) is a good starting point. Michael is correct that the structure of the academy shouldn't per se determine...
by ArnavS
Mon Apr 29, 2019 6:28 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Why don't we have 1/1 math?
Replies: 59
Views: 30511

Re: Why don't we have 1/1 math?

Why is literature the natural place to cut back? So yeah, you could make similar arguments that history is also ripe for a haircut. I guess some of this comes from the way the academy is currently structured ("history" questions are accessible to people with majors like Asian Studies, str...
by ArnavS
Mon Apr 29, 2019 6:08 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Why don't we have 1/1 math?
Replies: 59
Views: 30511

Re: Why don't we have 1/1 math?

Well, Rein said it better than I could, so I'll just quote him: I would suggest that the literature distribution taking up a full 4/4 is a significant constraint on the rest of the distribution, and that this weighting is not justified by the relative importance of the study of literature to, for ex...
by ArnavS
Mon Apr 29, 2019 5:33 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Why don't we have 1/1 math?
Replies: 59
Views: 30511

Re: Why don't we have 1/1 math?

Yeah, this is incidentally good reason to do what someone else suggested and take a hard look at the lit distribution. What do we mean by "take a hard look at the lit distribution?" Perhaps the literature distribution could stand to have a bit more non-fiction than it currently does, but ...
by ArnavS
Mon Apr 29, 2019 3:46 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Why don't we have 1/1 math?
Replies: 59
Views: 30511

Re: Why don't we have 1/1 math?

Yeah, this is incidentally good reason to do what someone else suggested and take a hard look at the lit distribution. That's why I'm in favor of some sort of catchall math-y category ("quantitative science?"), like the one mentioned. It might be difficult to argue that math, per se, merit...
by ArnavS
Mon Apr 29, 2019 2:39 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Why don't we have 1/1 math?
Replies: 59
Views: 30511

Re: Why don't we have 1/1 math?

This thread is a bit stale (and I participated in these discussions briefly over Discord), but I just discovered it. So, FWIW, wanted to cast my vote for something along the lines of "1/1 `pure math, applied math, statistics, quantitative methods, etc.`" I think with statistics, differenti...
by ArnavS
Mon Apr 29, 2019 12:31 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Canadian Player Poll
Replies: 44
Views: 24074

Re: 2019 Canadian Player Poll

I know I said I wouldn't jump in again, but I’d simply like to point out that the “fairly arbitrary characteristic” you describe is “being a Canadian Quizbowl player.” Which seems like a good choice, given the poll's title. Meghan said you get pushback on this every year. Maybe that’s a sign that th...
by ArnavS
Mon Apr 29, 2019 10:58 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Canadian Player Poll
Replies: 44
Views: 24074

Re: 2019 Canadian Player Poll

As I mentioned, you are more than welcome to create a similar poll for your own circuit, but please do not keep commenting on this thread to propose further ways that people could include you on their ballot. I think this is a remarkably naive and uncharitable reading of what I'm saying. I couldn't...
by ArnavS
Mon Apr 29, 2019 2:10 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Canadian Player Poll
Replies: 44
Views: 24074

Re: 2019 Canadian Player Poll

Fair enough Chris, but in that case I think the poll should probably be renamed to what you wrote ("the task is to determine the best players on the (Eastern) Canadian QB circuit.") I guess my point is that a putatively national poll should, I think, at least try to cover the whole country...
by ArnavS
Sun Apr 28, 2019 11:50 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: 2019 Canadian Player Poll
Replies: 44
Views: 24074

Re: 2019 Canadian Player Poll

Dunno about the eligibility nuances, but there are probably some PNW players who should be on the list.

In terms of tournaments, UBC played SCT at UW, FST at UW, Terrapin at UW, and probably some other stuff that I don't remember. Carlos Doebli could give a more concrete list.