This bonkers quiz continues to delight. My MSc was in Psychological Assessment and the part of the course I was most engaged by was the various definitions of intelligence. And tonight saw an interesting match-up. It was between the “Eggheads” who squat over most quiz programmes with their wikipedia-like memories and three of the best “Only Connecters” in the programme's short history.
Now, to put this into context for those not in thrall to Vicky Coren, Only Connect is stupidly difficult. When University Challenge is on immediately beforehand it acts as a five-finger exercise, a Daily Telegraph crossword warm-up ahead of an Araucarian Guardian masterpiece. And it asks the solvers to use information differently. More laterally. For those of us into such things it's a fascinating mash-up of divergent and convergent thinking.
So, who won? Well, actually it was surprisingly close, and the Eggheads should be given extra credit for not having the game-specific advantage of the Connecters – for playing away as it were. But the Connecters killed them on the last round of squished consonants, which is actually the only round I'm any good at. Actually, I'm as good at it as I am useless at the rest of it.
None of which proves anything, but as a small qualitative study for those who like to see reductionists with brains the size of planets put in their place by something less measured but more powerful, it was fun.
Now, to put this into context for those not in thrall to Vicky Coren, Only Connect is stupidly difficult. When University Challenge is on immediately beforehand it acts as a five-finger exercise, a Daily Telegraph crossword warm-up ahead of an Araucarian Guardian masterpiece. And it asks the solvers to use information differently. More laterally. For those of us into such things it's a fascinating mash-up of divergent and convergent thinking.
So, who won? Well, actually it was surprisingly close, and the Eggheads should be given extra credit for not having the game-specific advantage of the Connecters – for playing away as it were. But the Connecters killed them on the last round of squished consonants, which is actually the only round I'm any good at. Actually, I'm as good at it as I am useless at the rest of it.
None of which proves anything, but as a small qualitative study for those who like to see reductionists with brains the size of planets put in their place by something less measured but more powerful, it was fun.
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