Results 1 to 10 of 10
  1. #1

    Duke Student on "Jeopardy!"

    Watch it tonight! Greer Mackebee, a senior civil and environmental engineering major from Knoxville, Tennessee, is on Jeopardy! this week in the college championships. 12,000 people applied and 15 students were selected. He takes on a student from Indiana and MIT (the only other engineering student in the field) in the first round which is airing today. SPOILER below in white (highlight text to read) since it hasn't aired on the East Coast yet (but has in other areas):

    http://www.pratt.duke.edu/node/3227

    He wins and becomes a semi-finalist! Knows his colonial history and was the only one to get the final Jeopardy question correctly.

    Good luck to him!

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedog View Post
    Watch it tonight! Greer Mackebee, a senior civil and environmental engineering major from Knoxville, Tennessee, is on Jeopardy! this week in the college championships. 12,000 people applied and 15 students were selected. He takes on a student from Indiana and MIT (the only other engineering student in the field) in the first round which is airing today. SPOILER below in white (highlight text to read) since it hasn't aired on the East Coast yet (but has in other areas):

    http://www.pratt.duke.edu/node/3227

    He wins and becomes a semi-finalist! Knows his colonial history and was the only one to get the final Jeopardy question correctly.

    Good luck to him!
    I randomly stumbled upon the Jeopardy program. I was very produ to be a Duke grad watching Greer handle himself. Any ideas when the semi-finals are?
    My Quick Smells Like French Toast.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Channing View Post
    I randomly stumbled upon the Jeopardy program. I was very produ to be a Duke grad watching Greer handle himself. Any ideas when the semi-finals are?
    Greer's semifinal matchup airs tomorrow, Thursday, February 9th. He's going up against a student from GW and one from Goucher. The winner of that goes on to the two-game finals next Monday and Tuesday. The first of three semifinals airs today.

    http://www.jeopardy.com/minisites/co...-s28/matchups/

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    New Orleans, Louisiana

    Duke gets all the calls...

    ... or does it?

    In the category "CO___ED" the show gave the clue, "Called up or brought into existence via magical means." Greer said, "What is concocted?" The correct answer, as the MIT brunette with the cute perpetual scowl indicated, was "What is conjured?" I kept waiting for the judges to adjust his score later in the show to reflect that clue's vagueness, but I'm pretty sure they never did. "Conjured" is the better answer, but "concocted" is arguably a valid alternative.

    That bit of poor officiating, and the fact that Greer was surrounded by an equally cute Indiana blonde on his other side, kept the odds stacked against him, but he triumphed anyway. Let's hope in the semifinal round he wears a less faded looking sweatshirt that is closer to Duke blue. Oh, and if Ty Burrell and Hugh Grant had a child...

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by brevity View Post

    ... or does it?

    In the category "CO___ED" the show gave the clue, "Called up or brought into existence via magical means." Greer said, "What is concocted?" The correct answer, as the MIT brunette with the cute perpetual scowl indicated, was "What is conjured?" I kept waiting for the judges to adjust his score later in the show to reflect that clue's vagueness, but I'm pretty sure they never did. "Conjured" is the better answer, but "concocted" is arguably a valid alternative.

    I had the same thought at the time. Alex Trebek even hesitated for a second or two before saying that "concocted" was wrong, as if he'd just realized, "Uh-oh, that's also a valid answer, and we didn't think of it. Crap."

  6. #6
    Greer, unfortunately, came in second in the semifinals so does not advance. Student from Goucher College really dominated and advances to the finals. Still gets a chunk of change. Nice run!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Ashburn, VA
    Although it turned out not to matter, I thought his daily-double wager of 6000 wasn't optimal. If the Goucher girl had gotten the remaining 3 questions (for 1200 ,1600 and 2000 IIRC), she would have been about a thousand over double his score heading into Final Jeopardy and made it a true runaway.

    Of course she was the only one to get Final Jeopardy correct (along with yours truly, of course) anyway, so it's irrelevant.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Tom B. View Post
    I had the same thought at the time. Alex Trebek even hesitated for a second or two before saying that "concocted" was wrong, as if he'd just realized, "Uh-oh, that's also a valid answer, and we didn't think of it. Crap."
    Personally, I think the concocted implies alchemy or chemistry or food, not magic. Also, that you have ingredients that you use...not "bringing something into existance" ie "out of thin air". But I suppose it is open to interpretation, and it is poorly worded.

  9. #9
    I'll take "Concrete Canoes" for $100, Alex.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1268030.html
    ~rthomas

  10. #10
    Meme of the aforementioned incident:


    As Greer said in the above interview, it's such a blur and your adrenaline is pumping and you're in the zone, so a misinterpretation like that can easily occur, I'd imagine.

Similar Threads

  1. Relative productivity of "big" and "small" lineups
    By Kedsy in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 130
    Last Post: 03-21-2011, 11:14 PM
  2. "America's Dumbest Student" at NCSU?
    By airowe in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 07-17-2010, 11:27 PM
  3. Yet more criminality from "student athletes"
    By 4decadedukie in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 06-21-2010, 12:49 PM
  4. Icing the Shooter: "Good" play or "Bad"
    By greybeard in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 02-07-2008, 03:53 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •