J! related math question on 538

The forum for general posting. Come join the madness. :)
Message
Author
User avatar
TheConfessor
Posts: 6462
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 1:11 pm

Re: J! related math question on 538

#26 Post by TheConfessor » Tue Oct 17, 2017 1:11 pm

For a classic example of the opposite end of the Jeopardy! spectrum, watch today's bizarre episode. It's amazing, but not it a good way.

User avatar
silverscreenselect
Posts: 23174
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 11:21 pm
Contact:

Re: J! related math question on 538

#27 Post by silverscreenselect » Tue Oct 17, 2017 1:14 pm

TheConfessor wrote: I chose to posit "27 pitches" as a reasonable definition of a "perfect game" in baseball mostly to give you the opportunity to bring up situations where an out can be recorded without a bitch being thrown.
I've been to a number of baseball games and I've never seen a bitch get thrown. I seen umpires throw some sons-of-bitches out of games though.
Check out our website: http://www.silverscreenvideos.com

User avatar
BackInTex
Posts: 12780
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 12:43 pm
Location: In Texas of course!

Re: J! related math question on 538

#28 Post by BackInTex » Tue Oct 17, 2017 1:18 pm

TheConfessor wrote: Occasionally there are categories where it would be safe to bit it all on a DD, instead of all but a dollar. Like if the category is "ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, OR MINERAL" and the clue is "POTATO" and the other two players have already guessed animal and mineral. You'd still want to keep a dollar safe on your FJ wager to preserve the guaranteed win.
That's not how a DD works, is it? Only the person choosing the question gets to answer, right or wrong.
..what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? let them take arms.
~~ Thomas Jefferson

User avatar
TheConfessor
Posts: 6462
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 1:11 pm

Re: J! related math question on 538

#29 Post by TheConfessor » Tue Oct 17, 2017 1:18 pm

silverscreenselect wrote:
TheConfessor wrote: I chose to posit "27 pitches" as a reasonable definition of a "perfect game" in baseball mostly to give you the opportunity to bring up situations where an out can be recorded without a bitch being thrown.
I've been to a number of baseball games and I've never seen a bitch get thrown. I seen umpires throw some sons-of-bitches out of games though.
I have an appointment scheduled with an ophthalmologist next Monday, so I hope he can restore my once "perfect" vision. But I don't know how he defines "perfect."

User avatar
BackInTex
Posts: 12780
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 12:43 pm
Location: In Texas of course!

Re: J! related math question on 538

#30 Post by BackInTex » Tue Oct 17, 2017 1:21 pm

TheConfessor wrote: Are you saying that the pitcher no longer has to throw four pitches to get an intentional walk? Can the pitcher just signal that he wants the batter to go to first base at any time, without throwing a pitch, or regardless of the current ball-strike count? I knew this had been proposed, but it offended baseball purists. Is that currently the rule in MLB, and when did that happen?
A pitcher can walk a batter with one pitch (hitting the batter), but I doubt he'd get past 2 such plays in a row without getting tossed, or the crap beat out of him.
..what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? let them take arms.
~~ Thomas Jefferson

User avatar
TheConfessor
Posts: 6462
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 1:11 pm

Re: J! related math question on 538

#31 Post by TheConfessor » Tue Oct 17, 2017 1:47 pm

BackInTex wrote:
TheConfessor wrote: Occasionally there are categories where it would be safe to bit it all on a DD, instead of all but a dollar. Like if the category is "ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, OR MINERAL" and the clue is "POTATO" and the other two players have already guessed animal and mineral. You'd still want to keep a dollar safe on your FJ wager to preserve the guaranteed win.
That's not how a DD works, is it? Only the person choosing the question gets to answer, right or wrong.
You're right, of course. My bad.

User avatar
triviawayne
Posts: 678
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2015 6:38 am

Re: J! related math question on 538

#32 Post by triviawayne » Tue Oct 17, 2017 1:57 pm

TheConfessor wrote:
littlebeast13 wrote:
TheConfessor wrote:That is obviously true, if "perfect" means "optimally played." The most important goal in Jeopardy! is to win each game and survive to the next game, so no competent player would ever choose to play a "perfect" game if that means playing for the theoretical maximum score. It all depends on how you define "perfect." You could say that no baseball pitcher has ever pitched a perfect game, if you define "perfect" as throwing only 27 pitches.

What is so perfect about throwing 27 pitches? That's 27 more pitches than would be necessary to record a 9 inning no hit victory. Sure, there'd be 27 baserunners from the intentional walks who would all also get picked off, but since you seem to be singling out efficiency for some reason, why not go for the most efficient complete game that could possibly be "pitched?"

Nobody but Jeopardy enthusiasts and aspiring Jeopardy contestants would (or should) give a possum's patoot about the most "optimally played" game, nor would that come to the mind of many in a theoretical question of how much one would win in a "perfect" game of Jeopardy. I'm still curious if this was BiT's reasoning for the statement about perfect not equaling maximum I originally responded to...

lb13
I chose to posit "27 pitches" as a reasonable definition of a "perfect game" in baseball mostly to give you the opportunity to bring up situations where an out can be recorded without a bitch being thrown. I'm not an expert on such obscure rules. I can't recall the last time I watched an entire baseball game, so I'm out of the loop. Are you saying that the pitcher no longer has to throw four pitches to get an intentional walk? Can the pitcher just signal that he wants the batter to go to first base at any time, without throwing a pitch, or regardless of the current ball-strike count? I knew this had been proposed, but it offended baseball purists. Is that currently the rule in MLB, and when did that happen?

While we're at it, what would be a "perfect game" in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Winning a million without using a lifeline? Are there other plausible answers? Has that ever been done? If I ever get a chance to play again (which I won't), I would never answer the last question until I had used all of my lifelines.
What if the question is potato and the answers are animal, vegetable, mineral, cosmic dust?

User avatar
K.P.
Posts: 368
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 7:13 pm

Re: J! related math question on 538

#33 Post by K.P. » Tue Oct 17, 2017 2:16 pm

TheConfessor wrote: While we're at it, what would be a "perfect game" in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Winning a million without using a lifeline? Are there other plausible answers? Has that ever been done? If I ever get a chance to play again (which I won't), I would never answer the last question until I had used all of my lifelines.
The first winner, John Carpenter. He used his Phone a Friend just to tell his dad he was about to win the million.

I've only seen one other player win the top prize with a lifeline still on the table: the South African winner.

https://youtu.be/YJp1dmO-mB8

User avatar
TheConfessor
Posts: 6462
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 1:11 pm

Re: J! related math question on 538

#34 Post by TheConfessor » Tue Oct 17, 2017 4:41 pm

K.P. wrote:
TheConfessor wrote: While we're at it, what would be a "perfect game" in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Winning a million without using a lifeline? Are there other plausible answers? Has that ever been done? If I ever get a chance to play again (which I won't), I would never answer the last question until I had used all of my lifelines.
The first winner, John Carpenter. He used his Phone a Friend just to tell his dad he was about to win the million.

I've only seen one other player win the top prize with a lifeline still on the table: the South African winner.

https://youtu.be/YJp1dmO-mB8
By definition, using a lifeline ends the "perfect" game. Regardless of his motivation, he still used it. Maybe some people use their lifelines just to extend their moment in the spotlight or to score a guest appearance on Letterman or Saturday Night Live. Whatever the reason, they still used their lifeline.

User avatar
K.P.
Posts: 368
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 7:13 pm

Re: J! related math question on 538

#35 Post by K.P. » Tue Oct 17, 2017 5:16 pm

TheConfessor wrote: By definition, using a lifeline ends the "perfect" game. Regardless of his motivation, he still used it. Maybe some people use their lifelines just to extend their moment in the spotlight or to score a guest appearance on Letterman or Saturday Night Live. Whatever the reason, they still used their lifeline.
You've got me curious. There are YouTube videos with screen grabs of all the grand prize winners worldwide. I wonder how many of them even reached the final question with all lifelines in tow.

My opinion, however, is that any grand prize win is a perfect game. The lifelines are a tool, and using them at the right times is just as much a part of the game as answering the questions. That's just my opinion.

User avatar
silverscreenselect
Posts: 23174
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 11:21 pm
Contact:

Re: J! related math question on 538

#36 Post by silverscreenselect » Tue Oct 17, 2017 5:25 pm

BackInTex wrote: A pitcher can walk a batter with one pitch (hitting the batter), but I doubt he'd get past 2 such plays in a row without getting tossed, or the crap beat out of him.
An interesting bit of trivia on this general subject. Before baseball changed its scoring rules about what constituted a no-hitter and a perfect game a few years ago, they counted one game that Babe Ruth started for the Boston Red Sox. He walked the first batter and got thrown out of the game for arguing with the umpire. That runner was then either picked off or caught stealing and his relief pitcher retired the next 26 batters for what was then considered a perfect game (it's not anymore).
Check out our website: http://www.silverscreenvideos.com

User avatar
jarnon
Posts: 6264
Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2007 9:52 pm
Location: Merion, Pa.

Re: J! related math question on 538

#37 Post by jarnon » Tue Oct 17, 2017 5:50 pm

TheConfessor wrote:For a classic example of the opposite end of the Jeopardy! spectrum, watch today's bizarre episode. It's amazing, but not it a good way.
Another Final Jeopardy about bodies of water! Embarrassing for the lieutenant.
Слава Україні!
עם ישראל חי

Post Reply