Did anyne watch the risible performance of England cricketer Monty Panesar on a recent Mastermind programme? Not only did he perform miserably in his specialist subject (Sikh religion) but his general knowledge was zero, in fact, less than a 5 yr old. An absolute disgrace, given that he was born and bred in Luton. Talk about being insular... Your thoughts?
The paid critics are paid because they have expert knowledge of the subject not because they are on social media trying to convince others of their superiority,
My biggest cringe moment was the Millionaire programme over Christmas when a guy was heading toward the £125,000 question where the answer was literally n the question itself. He'd used all his " asks " at that point but he seemed determined to give the wrong answer.
Through his sheer stupidity he lost a fistful of money which to my mind served him right.
What a lot of over critical posts aimed at Gabriella on this thread, simply for saying what she was surprised by on Mastermind! I didn’t see this episode but am often surprised by the poor grasp of general knowledge by celebrities.
EllanVannin I remember a Millionaire question about an ibex - is it deer, pig, hare or goat and I'm willing the contestant to say 'goat' but my telepathy can't have been working that day. The contestant answered hesitantly 'deer'. and Jeremy said he was not even going to look at the screen because that was the correct answer . Jeremy had 'seen them in Africa, boinging along' - he must have had strong binoculars!
We of the older generation should by rights know most answers on these quizzes because we have the advantage of our past schooling, knowledge throughout our lives and of course present day whereas the younger ones only go so far back and aren't always capable of cramming 60/70 years of historical knowledge in their 20/30/40 years.
Ellan but general knowledge includes things like pop music and TV soaps which I think the younger people know more about. Well a lot more about than I do!
Knowing, retaining & recalling facts is a particular skill and not necessarily a sign of being intelligent, kind, friendly, thoughful etc. things that really matter! General knowledge is usually based on one's general experience & interest. DH can recall any amount of sporting facts and figures about which I know nothing. I do know more about garden plants though!
So when I can't remember the word which is the answer on Mastermind or UC it means I am not actually thick PECS? Thanks.
A fly on the wall would enjoy watching DH and me when these programmes are on, he knows the football questions and some of the more popular music, I can guess an artist, author or composer and then he suddenly knows some random fact about something he shouldn't have a clue about. Is there some website where you can swat up on the answers before the show is aired?
nonnie I think having common sense is more valuable than knowing facts for the sake of knowing them! I mean who cares which is the 2nd highest peak in Sth America? Especially now we have Alexa and Dr. Google to do our research for us.