Transcript 04/03/2012 Kevin Devlin (carryover)

[BBTranscriptTeam]

Kevin Devlin
Staten Island, NY
Bartender

wife Rachel and mom Diane are in the audience. They are newlyweds but he could not afford a ring.
They hope to buy a house and have babies in the future

Topic Tree: (randomized)

(2) Secret Pants
$3000
$7000
$10000
$1000
$15000
$25000
$500
(Jumped)
$100


Question 10 - Level 2 Secret Pants
What style of pants were introduced as a form of camouflage for British soldiers in India in the 1800s?
A. Corduroys B. Khakis
C. Jeans B. Knickerbockers

Answer and value

B. Khakis
Value: known to be $2000
Bank: $63600

Question 11 - $100K
According to Stephen Hawking, people tell him his speech software makes him sound "Scandinavian, American or" what?
A. Australian B. Irish
C. Scottish D. Canadian

JTQ

Kevin was trying to think which was a combination of Scandinavian and American. Irish and Scottish are similar.
Mere said Kevin's gut has been good so far and asked what his gut here is.
Kevin said Canadian
Kevin decided to JTQ

Answer

C. Scottish
Bank remains $63600

Commercial break

Question 12 - $250K
Described in the book as "the giant who holds the world on his shoulders," if "Atlas Shrugged" how much mass would he be lifting?
A. 6 million tons B. 6.6 sextillion tons
C. 10.2 trillion tons D. 14 quintillion tons

pre-ATA

when he read the first part of the question, he knew it was Atlas and hoped that they would be asking that.
But it is much harder than he thought. Let's try the audience

ATA

A-13% B-31% C-34% D-22%

post-ATA

Mere: Wow, thanks a lot!
Kevin: go easy on them, they tried their best (applause)
Kevin assumed it would be the largest amount and is trying to see which was the largest amount
The difference between B & D isn't really that much.
Mere gives him the figures ($250K vs 63.6K vs 25K)
Kevin said the goal is always a million, but does not think he can risk $40K here. Final answer to walk.
Mere asked what he would have guessed.
Kevin: Would have went with B
Mere: You would have been right (Aww reaction from audience)

Answer

B. 6.6 sextillion tons
Walk: $63600

[Snaxx]

bumping this up

[SportsFan68]

JMHO, both 11 and 12 were WWOQs.

[TheConfessor]

Question 12 - $250K
Described in the book as "the giant who holds the world on his shoulders," if "Atlas Shrugged" how much mass would he be lifting?
A. 6 million tons B. 6.6 sextillion tons
C. 10.2 trillion tons D. 14 quintillion tons

I'd say none of the above. All of the choices are in tons, which is a unit of force, not mass. It's kind of like being asked how tall you are and answering "five minutes."

[MarleysGh0st]

Question 11 - $100K
According to Stephen Hawking, people tell him his speech software makes him sound "Scandinavian, American or" what?
A. Australian B. Irish
C. Scottish D. Canadian

JTQ

Kevin was trying to think which was a combination of Scandinavian and American. Irish and Scottish are similar.
Mere said Kevin's gut has been good so far and asked what his gut here is.
Kevin said Canadian
Kevin decided to JTQ

Answer

C. Scottish
Bank remains $63600

I'd have to JTQ here, too. When the question says "people" tell him this, I think he's referring to British people. Americans wouldn't be likely to say he had an American accent, at least not without narrowing it down to a specific, regional accent. OTOH, most Americans aren't expert at distinguishing the various regional/class accents in England, which the British would be. The voice synthesis programs have long had a Scandinavian accent to my ear (Swedish, with a bit of a head cold), but I can't see the similarity to any of the choices in the question.

Question 12 - $250K
Described in the book as "the giant who holds the world on his shoulders," if "Atlas Shrugged" how much mass would he be lifting?
A. 6 million tons B. 6.6 sextillion tons
C. 10.2 trillion tons D. 14 quintillion tons

pre-ATA

when he read the first part of the question, he knew it was Atlas and hoped that they would be asking that.
But it is much harder than he thought. Let's try the audience

ATA

A-13% B-31% C-34% D-22%

post-ATA

Mere: Wow, thanks a lot!
Kevin: go easy on them, they tried their best (applause)
Kevin assumed it would be the largest amount and is trying to see which was the largest amount
The difference between B & D isn't really that much.
Mere gives him the figures ($250K vs 63.6K vs 25K)
Kevin said the goal is always a million, but does not think he can risk $40K here. Final answer to walk.
Mere asked what he would have guessed.
Kevin: Would have went with B
Mere: You would have been right (Aww reaction from audience)

Answer

B. 6.6 sextillion tons
Walk: $63600

Interesting. First of all, eliminate the literary fluff and boil down the question to a simple "what is the mass of the Earth?" Next, read the choices carefully and avoid falling into the trap they've set by not putting them all in ascending order. As Sprots observed, this is a WWOQ for anyone to recall this answer off of the top of their head. But I think the answer is solvable.

The choices are widely spread apart, with at least three orders of magnitude between each of them. Getting the answer would require remembering the approximate diameter of Earth and the formula for the volume of a sphere. Convert the answer in cubic miles to cubic feet. Estimate the weight of one cubic foot of rock, approximately a bucketful. (The density of material in the core may be different from that, but not likely different by a factor of 1,000.) Then multiply the figures, convert from pounds to tons, and voila!

Okay, it might not be easy, under the pressure of the situation. The mathematical calculations might well try Meredith's patience and she might distract your train of thought. And I didn't try the calculations, myself, while watching the show. But it is, in principle, straightforward. And that's not bad, for $250,000.

[Bob Juch]

Question 12 - $250K
Described in the book as "the giant who holds the world on his shoulders," if "Atlas Shrugged" how much mass would he be lifting?
A. 6 million tons B. 6.6 sextillion tons
C. 10.2 trillion tons D. 14 quintillion tons

I'd say none of the above. All of the choices are in tons, which is a unit of force, not mass. It's kind of like being asked how tall you are and answering "five minutes."

I was taught that a ton is a unit of weight, not mass, and certainly not force.

[earendel]

Kevin Devlin
Staten Island, NY
Bartender

wife Rachel and mom Diane are in the audience. They are newlyweds but he could not afford a ring.
They hope to buy a house and have babies in the future

Question 11 - $100K
According to Stephen Hawking, people tell him his speech software makes him sound "Scandinavian, American or" what?
A. Australian B. Irish
C. Scottish D. Canadian

JTQ

Kevin was trying to think which was a combination of Scandinavian and American. Irish and Scottish are similar.
Mere said Kevin's gut has been good so far and asked what his gut here is.
Kevin said Canadian
Kevin decided to JTQ

Answer

C. Scottish
Bank remains $63600

I'd JTQ also.

Question 12 - $250K
Described in the book as "the giant who holds the world on his shoulders," if "Atlas Shrugged" how much mass would he be lifting?
A. 6 million tons B. 6.6 sextillion tons
C. 10.2 trillion tons D. 14 quintillion tons

pre-ATA

when he read the first part of the question, he knew it was Atlas and hoped that they would be asking that.
But it is much harder than he thought. Let's try the audience

ATA

A-13% B-31% C-34% D-22%

post-ATA

Mere: Wow, thanks a lot!
Kevin: go easy on them, they tried their best (applause)
Kevin assumed it would be the largest amount and is trying to see which was the largest amount
The difference between B & D isn't really that much.
Mere gives him the figures ($250K vs 63.6K vs 25K)
Kevin said the goal is always a million, but does not think he can risk $40K here. Final answer to walk.
Mere asked what he would have guessed.
Kevin: Would have went with B
Mere: You would have been right (Aww reaction from audience)

Answer

B. 6.6 sextillion tons
Walk: $63600

No doubt about this one - I knew the answer before the choices were revealed. It's on to $500K with ATA still in my pocket (for all the good it would do).

[MarleysGh0st]

Question 12 - $250K
Described in the book as "the giant who holds the world on his shoulders," if "Atlas Shrugged" how much mass would he be lifting?
A. 6 million tons B. 6.6 sextillion tons
C. 10.2 trillion tons D. 14 quintillion tons

pre-ATA

when he read the first part of the question, he knew it was Atlas and hoped that they would be asking that.
But it is much harder than he thought. Let's try the audience

ATA

A-13% B-31% C-34% D-22%

post-ATA

Mere: Wow, thanks a lot!
Kevin: go easy on them, they tried their best (applause)
Kevin assumed it would be the largest amount and is trying to see which was the largest amount
The difference between B & D isn't really that much.
Mere gives him the figures ($250K vs 63.6K vs 25K)
Kevin said the goal is always a million, but does not think he can risk $40K here. Final answer to walk.
Mere asked what he would have guessed.
Kevin: Would have went with B
Mere: You would have been right (Aww reaction from audience)

Answer

B. 6.6 sextillion tons
Walk: $63600

No doubt about this one - I knew the answer before the choices were revealed. It's on to $500K with ATA still in my pocket (for all the good it would do).

Really?

Do you have the weight of the other planets memorized, too? Or is there some particular reason you've memorized this fact?

[earendel]

Question 12 - $250K
Described in the book as "the giant who holds the world on his shoulders," if "Atlas Shrugged" how much mass would he be lifting?
A. 6 million tons B. 6.6 sextillion tons
C. 10.2 trillion tons D. 14 quintillion tons

pre-ATA

when he read the first part of the question, he knew it was Atlas and hoped that they would be asking that.
But it is much harder than he thought. Let's try the audience

ATA

A-13% B-31% C-34% D-22%

post-ATA

Mere: Wow, thanks a lot!
Kevin: go easy on them, they tried their best (applause)
Kevin assumed it would be the largest amount and is trying to see which was the largest amount
The difference between B & D isn't really that much.
Mere gives him the figures ($250K vs 63.6K vs 25K)
Kevin said the goal is always a million, but does not think he can risk $40K here. Final answer to walk.
Mere asked what he would have guessed.
Kevin: Would have went with B
Mere: You would have been right (Aww reaction from audience)

Answer

B. 6.6 sextillion tons
Walk: $63600

No doubt about this one - I knew the answer before the choices were revealed. It's on to $500K with ATA still in my pocket (for all the good it would do).

Really?

Do you have the weight of the other planets memorized, too? Or is there some particular reason you've memorized this fact?

No, but six sextillion tons for the mass of the earth has been in my brain for years. I suspect it's because of one of Asimov's essays that I read when I was younger. I was big on reading his collections of essays and it wouldn't surprise me to find out that he did one (or more) dealing with planetary masses.

[Bob78164]

Interesting. First of all, eliminate the literary fluff and boil down the question to a simple "what is the mass of the Earth?" Next, read the choices carefully and avoid falling into the trap they've set by not putting them all in ascending order. As Sprots observed, this is a WWOQ for anyone to recall this answer off of the top of their head. But I think the answer is solvable.

The choices are widely spread apart, with at least three orders of magnitude between each of them. Getting the answer would require remembering the approximate diameter of Earth and the formula for the volume of a sphere. Convert the answer in cubic miles to cubic feet. Estimate the weight of one cubic foot of rock, approximately a bucketful. (The density of material in the core may be different from that, but not likely different by a factor of 1,000.) Then multiply the figures, convert from pounds to tons, and voila!

Okay, it might not be easy, under the pressure of the situation. The mathematical calculations might well try Meredith's patience and she might distract your train of thought. And I didn't try the calculations, myself, while watching the show. But it is, in principle, straightforward. And that's not bad, for $250,000.

I did the math in metric, aided by knowing that the average density of the Earth is 5.5 g/cc. And I got it wrong.

I just realized how. I had radius as approximately 4000 km. It's 4000 miles, which is roughly 6,400 km. I still shouldn't have been off as far as I was, so let's go through it again:

6.4 x 10^3 km = 6.4 x 10^8 cm.

Cube that, getting 64^3 x 10^21 cc, which is 2^18 x 10^21 or a little more than 2.5 x 10^26 cc. 4 pi /3 is roughly 4, so we get that the Earth's volume is roughly 10^27 cc, so its mass is roughly 5.5 x 10^27 g = 5.5 x 10^24 kg = 5.5 x 10^21 metric tonnes. A metric tonne is about 10% bigger than an English ton, so that's about 6 x 10^21 tons, or 6 sextillion.

It's Ernest Cline's fault that I got the arithmetic wrong. I could really use some more sleep, but I'm in the habit of reading a bit after I get into bed, and I can't seem to put this particular book down.



Thank God I'm up to the last third of the book, because I really can't keep staying up until 2:00 a.m. --Bob

[15QuestionsAway]

Bob's knowing the average density of the earth would have been really useful, but here's how I honed on the right answer:

1. First, the answers are orders of magnitude different. Therefore, I don't need an exact answer. I just need something that gets me in the ballpark.

2. I know the volume of a sphere is 4/3*pi*(r^3). So a sphere with a radius of 1 unit has a volume of a touch over 4 cubic units.

3. A sphere with a radius of 1 unit fits into a cube with each side being 2 units. The volume of this cube is 8 cubic units, so in the back of my head I know the sphere is about half the volume of the cube. So I don't have to really treat the earth as a sphere, I can treat it as a cube instead. Makes the math much easier to do in your head on television.

3. I also know the diameter of the earth is roughly 12,700 km. Since we're approximating, call it 12,000 km. That's 12,000,000 m, or 12 * 10^6 m.

4. The volume of a cube with the diameter of the earth is (12 * 10^6)^3, or (1728 * 10^18) or (1.728 * 10^21) cubic metres.

5. 10^21 is one sextillion, so we're looking at a cube with a volume of 1.7 sextillion cubic metres. A cubic metre of water weighs (has a mass of, technically) one tonne (1000 kg) - water has a density of 1 g/ml. So my cube weighs 1.7 sextillion tonnes. My sphere that fits inside the cube weighs roughly 1 sextillion tonnes.

I'm off by a factor of about 7 because of approximations and assuming the weight of water as a proxy for the average density of the earth.

However, with a little math and knowing the weight (mass) of water, I was able rule out all the other choices. It made this a very interesting $250,000 question.

[Bob78164]

Bob's knowing the average density of the earth would have been really useful . . . .

If it ever comes up, by the way, the Sun's average density is about 2 g/cc. Earth's density is highest among the planets, just pipping out that of Venus. Saturn is the only planet with an average density less than 1.0 g/cc, leading to the trope that it would float in water. --Bob

[MarleysGh0st]

Hurray for local blogs--Kevin's appearance at least gets mentioned here, when contestants from the rest of Where Else don't.

http://blog.silive.com/inside_out_colum ... naire.html

[Bob78164]

Question 12 - $250K
Described in the book as "the giant who holds the world on his shoulders," if "Atlas Shrugged" how much mass would he be lifting?
A. 6 million tons B. 6.6 sextillion tons
C. 10.2 trillion tons D. 14 quintillion tons

I'd say none of the above. All of the choices are in tons, which is a unit of force, not mass. It's kind of like being asked how tall you are and answering "five minutes."

I was taught that a ton is a unit of weight, not mass, and certainly not force.

Weight, which is mass times (local) gravitational acceleration, is a unit of force. --Bob