Not an incorrect answer but a curious lapse by the ultra professional ChrisTarrant on an episode of Millionaire on Challenge last night, and also bizarre tactics by the contestant.
He got to £1000 without any problem but then his next question was "What is the housing of a compass on a ship called?". He used up 50/50 and ask the audience (52% saying capstan, 48% the correct binnacle), then announced he wanted to phone his uncle Paul in Portsmouth, who used to be in the navy. I mean, if you had somebody on hand who would be almost certain to know the answer why would you waste your other 2 lifelines first? But never mind.
Chris went through the usual spiel, "You can take the money, phone a friend then take the money, or play, it's up to you", but in fact at that point he might as well guess as he couldn't lose.
Not an incorrect answer but a curious lapse by the ultra professional ChrisTarrant on an episode of Millionaire on Challenge last night, and also bizarre tactics by the contestant.
He got to £1000 without any problem but then his next question was "What is the housing of a compass on a ship called?". He used up 50/50 and ask the audience (52% saying capstan, 48% the correct binnacle), then announced he wanted to phone his uncle Paul in Portsmouth, who used to be in the navy. I mean, if you had somebody on hand who would be almost certain to know the answer why would you waste your other 2 lifelines first? But never mind.
Chris went through the usual spiel, "You can take the money, phone a friend then take the money, or play, it's up to you", but in fact at that point he might as well guess as he couldn't lose.
Last week on Perfection, a question was 'Ray Meagher played Harold Bishop on Neighbours'.
The contestant answered FALSE which for the purposes of the game is correct.
But, Nick went on to say that he played Alf Roberts instead of Alf Stewart in Home and Away. Plus Ray's surname is pronouced as 'Marr' and not as 'Meger'.
One on Counterpoint last week, the semi final no less, had me banging my head off the wall.
They were played Waltz in Black, the theme used by Keith Floyd for his cookery series, and asked to name which British rock band recorded it. The answers offered were King Crimson, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, and Orchestral Manouvres in the Dark.
One on Counterpoint last week, the semi final no less, had me banging my head off the wall.
They were played Waltz in Black, the theme used by Keith Floyd for his cookery series, and asked to name which British rock band recorded it. The answers offered were King Crimson, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, and Orchestral Manouvres in the Dark.
Can't remember the show, but contestants were given the names of various films and they had to say whether they were set in the past, present or future. Apparently the correct answer for Star Wars is 'the future'.
How can a researcher get something as basic as that wrong? At the start of film, before the action starts, the words "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." appear on screen.
In fact those words alone are pretty famous and most film buffs would instantly associate them with Star Wars!
On The Chase, to the question " Which artist created Spiderman"? The incorrect "correct" answer given by the presenter Bradley Walsh was Stan Lee.
Lee was only ever a writer and editor, He never drew. And the actual answer is debatable as both Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko had a hand in the original costume concept etc though Ditko produced the final recognised image. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man#Creation_and_development
You're correct about who did what but we also refer to creative people who do things other than draw, paint and sculpt as artists. Musicians are also referred to artists in every day use, and it's not entirely uncommon for playwrights, dramatists and other writers to be called artists either.
If you completed a language degree, such as English Literature, then you'd become a Batchelor of Arts, so referring to a writer such as Stan Lee as an artist isn't entirely wrong.
I remeber that too, one of the guys (who wasn't the one who actually said the answer) make a stroppy comment saying something like "surely it's a matter of pronunciation" so didn't come across that well.
I think the question concerned South American captial cities, the answer they submited was the captial of Suriname, which is Paramaribo. One the face of it a very good answer, however they pronounced it as something like 'Paramambo' so i think Pointless were quite right in not giving it to them. They were obviously pretty close and were thinking of the right city but it's still an incorrect answer nevertheless. It was made more awkaward by the other team giving the same answer too, but pronounced correctly so they were always going to have to give it to one or the other.
The answer the first team gave was in the right area but it wasn't correct. It wasn't a matter of pronunciation, more a case of they had an inkling of the right answer but didn't quite have it.
It would be like someone being asked what's the name of the highest mountain in Africa and expecting Mount Kilamango to be accepted when the correct answer is Mount Kilimanjaro.
The bottom line is that one team had the right answer and one team had something that wasn't the right answer.
There was one on University Challenge last night that I though was unfairly given wrong. The question was "'How he lives beggars belief constantly nicking old foreign necklaces' is the start of a sentence with 118 words which is a mnemonic for which scientific series?", to which the first person said "the elements". Paxo accepted the answer "The Periodic Table" from the other team. For me, the elements are a series in atomic number order, while the periodic table shows how they are grouped by chemical property in a periodic way, which the mnemonic doesn't do at all.
The problem there is that Jeremy Paxman doesn't know the first thing about science. He is actually quite dismissive when people get things that he knows something about wildly wrong which makes it funny (and frustrating) when he is so draconian about which answers he will and won't accept when it comes to biology, chemistry and physics.
But everyone knows what they mean so I don't lose any sleep over it. We really need a suitable Imperial unit that we can use.
The "per" totally changes the meaning and hence putting it in the answer is wrong (not to mention ridiculous in this case). You might not understand why but it does.
As for Imperial units I sincerely hope that you were joking. You'd have to be mad to prefer Imperial measurements for scientific use, and if you saw what the Imperial equivalent of a kWh was and how it was derived and calculated then you would soon change your mind!
It's hardly pedantic to say that kilowatts per hour is meaningless nonsense. It just is.
Sorry to pick this up after such a long time but "kilowatts per hour" isn't meaningless nonsense it just wasn't the correct answer which was "kilowatt hour". (I know you know that I was just pointing it out for those that might not).
One on Counterpoint last week, the semi final no less, had me banging my head off the wall.
They were played Waltz in Black, the theme used by Keith Floyd for his cookery series, and asked to name which British rock band recorded it. The answers offered were King Crimson, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, and Orchestral Manouvres in the Dark.
Sorry to pick this up after such a long time but "kilowatts per hour" isn't meaningless nonsense it just wasn't the correct answer which was "kilowatt hour". (I know you know that I was just pointing it out for those that might not).
OK, if you must assign a meaning to kilowatts per hour
If a generator outputs at a rate of 10 kilowatts in the first hour, then 20 kilowatts in the second hour and 30 kilowatts in the third hour, its output is increasing at a rate of 10 kilowatts per hour.
In the three hours it has generated 60 kilowatt hours of energy.
I'm sorry, but while you seem to think that the point you're trying to make is obvious, I haven't the slightest idea what it is.
You really haven't, or just trying to make another point of your own in an opaque way? Yes, I know that "incorrect answers" in the thread title has a slightly different meaning than this, but what the hell? I was amazed none of them knew it.
You really haven't, or just trying to make another point of your own in an opaque way? Yes, I know that "incorrect answers" in the thread title has a slightly different meaning than this, but what the hell? I was amazed none of them knew it.
Ah, right, I'm with you now... I thought you meant the show itself had offered three multiple choice answers, none of which was correct - hence my asking if somebody had gone through on a wrong answer.
I remember a Top of the Pops relaunch some 10 years ago that ran a competition: the question - what was the first number one hit for Robbie Williams... I think the options were Freedom, Angels or Let Me Entertain You. The correct answer, Millennium, was definitely not an option.
You'd have to be mad to prefer Imperial measurements for scientific use, and if you saw what the Imperial equivalent of a kWh was and how it was derived and calculated then you would soon change your mind!
As an engineer it pains me to say this, but it would probably reduce confusion if we stopped using engineering units and switched to scientific units instead. So, instead of Watts, power would be measured in Joules per second (which is actually the same thing, just a different name) and instead of Watt hours, energy would be measured in Joules. I don't know why people find it so difficult, but when seemingly the majority of science writers get power and energy the wrong way round it's probably worth thinking about.
Ah, right, I'm with you now... I thought you meant the show itself had offered three multiple choice answers, none of which was correct - hence my asking if somebody had gone through on a wrong answer.
tbh that what I thought it meant
Not knowing an answer is a hell of a lot different from a wrong answer being accepted and even moreso the correct answer not being one of the options in a multiple choice.
Comments
He got to £1000 without any problem but then his next question was "What is the housing of a compass on a ship called?". He used up 50/50 and ask the audience (52% saying capstan, 48% the correct binnacle), then announced he wanted to phone his uncle Paul in Portsmouth, who used to be in the navy. I mean, if you had somebody on hand who would be almost certain to know the answer why would you waste your other 2 lifelines first? But never mind.
Chris went through the usual spiel, "You can take the money, phone a friend then take the money, or play, it's up to you", but in fact at that point he might as well guess as he couldn't lose.
The contestant answered FALSE which for the purposes of the game is correct.
But, Nick went on to say that he played Alf Roberts instead of Alf Stewart in Home and Away. Plus Ray's surname is pronouced as 'Marr' and not as 'Meger'.
Another example this week
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22429983.000-tidal-lagoon-in-swansea-bay-to-boost-flood-defences.html
The online article has now been corrected, but the print version says that the tidal lagoon could generate up to 320 megawatts per day. If New Scientist can't get it right, what hope is there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=botdmsQilnU
They were played Waltz in Black, the theme used by Keith Floyd for his cookery series, and asked to name which British rock band recorded it. The answers offered were King Crimson, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, and Orchestral Manouvres in the Dark.
Aren't you going to tell us what happened next?
Oh ok, one of them got to the final, don't care which one.
How can a researcher get something as basic as that wrong? At the start of film, before the action starts, the words "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." appear on screen.
In fact those words alone are pretty famous and most film buffs would instantly associate them with Star Wars!
You're correct about who did what but we also refer to creative people who do things other than draw, paint and sculpt as artists. Musicians are also referred to artists in every day use, and it's not entirely uncommon for playwrights, dramatists and other writers to be called artists either.
If you completed a language degree, such as English Literature, then you'd become a Batchelor of Arts, so referring to a writer such as Stan Lee as an artist isn't entirely wrong.
Did somebody get through on a wrong answer then?
The answer the first team gave was in the right area but it wasn't correct. It wasn't a matter of pronunciation, more a case of they had an inkling of the right answer but didn't quite have it.
It would be like someone being asked what's the name of the highest mountain in Africa and expecting Mount Kilamango to be accepted when the correct answer is Mount Kilimanjaro.
The bottom line is that one team had the right answer and one team had something that wasn't the right answer.
The problem there is that Jeremy Paxman doesn't know the first thing about science. He is actually quite dismissive when people get things that he knows something about wildly wrong which makes it funny (and frustrating) when he is so draconian about which answers he will and won't accept when it comes to biology, chemistry and physics.
The "per" totally changes the meaning and hence putting it in the answer is wrong (not to mention ridiculous in this case). You might not understand why but it does.
As for Imperial units I sincerely hope that you were joking. You'd have to be mad to prefer Imperial measurements for scientific use, and if you saw what the Imperial equivalent of a kWh was and how it was derived and calculated then you would soon change your mind!
Sorry to pick this up after such a long time but "kilowatts per hour" isn't meaningless nonsense it just wasn't the correct answer which was "kilowatt hour". (I know you know that I was just pointing it out for those that might not).
I'm sorry, but while you seem to think that the point you're trying to make is obvious, I haven't the slightest idea what it is.
IF it's the tune I'm thinking of (I've never watched Keith Floyd programmes), it's none of the above and the correct answer is The Stranglers.
OK, if you must assign a meaning to kilowatts per hour
If a generator outputs at a rate of 10 kilowatts in the first hour, then 20 kilowatts in the second hour and 30 kilowatts in the third hour, its output is increasing at a rate of 10 kilowatts per hour.
In the three hours it has generated 60 kilowatt hours of energy.
Ah, right, I'm with you now... I thought you meant the show itself had offered three multiple choice answers, none of which was correct - hence my asking if somebody had gone through on a wrong answer.
As an engineer it pains me to say this, but it would probably reduce confusion if we stopped using engineering units and switched to scientific units instead. So, instead of Watts, power would be measured in Joules per second (which is actually the same thing, just a different name) and instead of Watt hours, energy would be measured in Joules. I don't know why people find it so difficult, but when seemingly the majority of science writers get power and energy the wrong way round it's probably worth thinking about.
I have absolutely no idea what point you're trying to make; why would anyone pretend otherwise?
Though, to be honest, by this stage I don't actually care whether you tell us or not.
Not knowing an answer is a hell of a lot different from a wrong answer being accepted and even moreso the correct answer not being one of the options in a multiple choice.