I was watching Jeopardy! today and these people managed to answer questions about old, dead Italian writers, sports teams, expo locations, and locales in California, but when it came to the category of “ballistics,” I noticed something quite interesting.
The first question referred to what the origin of the word “ballistics” means. Now, you don’t even need to know the origin language to think about it logically and come up with a decent response. What is ballistics? Projectiles. What do we do with projectiles? A few answers would be acceptable here in the thought process: possibly to launch, to throw. Do you know what they came up with? To hit. That…that is not the same, guys, LOGICALLY THINK ABOUT WHAT A PROJECTILE IS!
Second question: This is the two word term for the speed of a projectile after it has left the barrel, measured in feet per second. First of all, speed is a scalar, so it wasn’t EXACTLY worded correctly, but for the sake of the question without giving away the answer with an extra free scoop of ice cream, I will let it slide. Let’s think about this. What are synonyms for a barrel? You know that first one I come up with is? Muzzle. Speed in any direction…velocity. Muzzle velocity. Do you know what they came up with? Nothing. Nobody even bothered to buzz in.
The next question was about some court case using ballistic forensics, so nobody cared, and of course, they got it right. The $1000 question? The name of the type of energy a bullet has, the conversion of chemical energy into this. Now, this, I think, is a basic physical concept that you learn in high school. Kinetic energy. The energy of things in motion. This is important, guys, because this is everywhere, all the time. This would be a good concept to understand, since it is what makes the world that most of us see function. Aaaaaaand what did they say? Nothing. Not a word. No buzzing in. Nothing.
Why is it that these “smart” people, who can rattle off answers about old dead people like they’re going out of style, failed to even buzz in in regard to a question about a very basic concept that is what powers all life and what is the result of powered life? Shouldn’t things like kinetic energy and velocity be things so basic and obvious and necessary to understanding life and the world that everyone should know them so well they don’t even have to stop and think about it? They can just insert them into logical thought progressions without hesitation because they know what they are?
We learn a lot of things in school, a lot of things we can say we know. Some about old, dead writers. Some about expo locations. Californian deserts. But in relation to the things we understand…they almost seem inconsequential if we don’t even have a grasp on basic world concepts.
I just found this interesting. What we know and what we understand are not the same. Perhaps schools should focus more on making people understand rather than making students know facts to regurgitate on tests. This isn’t about performance numbers every June, this is about performance in logical thought throughout life. Teaching for understanding is not teaching for fact. The distinction between the two is important.
And that’s a fact.
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As best as I can tell, there are three possible reasons for the seeming lack of knowledge on the contestants’ part. The first is, as you surmise, they just did not know the answers. The second is that, given the situation, their minds blanked. I have been on the show, and I can vouch for the fact that when things get rolling, there is little rhyme or reason behind what your brain can come up with. The hard answers come easy, and the easy ones can totally escape you. The third possibility is that someone did ring in and there was a technical issue while the episode was being taped. During the taping of my appearance, there was at least one question (possibly two or three) that, to the viewer at home, seemed to have gone unanswered. However, to those in the studio, they were answered, but there were issues regarding buzzer timing and the correctness of the answer given. Thanks to editing, you cannot tell at home that this stuff happens, but it does, and pretty much every episode. So, while I agree with your general point, it should also be noted that there are other viable reasons as to why they seemed clueless.