Rounds: Here.
On Sushma's second night she tells us that she wants to visit Egypt, and in particular to see the pyramids. She's fascinated by the feat of engineering that they represent, having been constructed before the wheel was even invented. That's what she says, anyway, but if you can trust Wikipedia on this then wheeled vehicles pre-dated the Egyptian pyramids by 700 years or more. Not that I had any idea about that before looking it up, I should add.
Richard suggests that her engineering background might give her a better perspective on the magnitude of the work that the pyramids represent. Sushma points out that her background is that of an electrical engineer, so it seems unlikely that it will grant her any special insight. There is some amusement at this.
Challenging Sushma is Daniel Chua, another university student -- it feels like we've had a lot of those recently -- who loves magic shows and even performs some of his own tricks. Some card-work, some stage-work, although nothing at the level of sawing people in half, apparently.
Five- and six-letter words are all that the contestants find today, but Daniel's consistent sixes give him a lead. With the numbers not playing favourites, Daniel is uncatchable going into the conundrum but finds it quickly anyway for a 44 to 22 point victory.
I had an excellent game today, including only the second time I've outdone Lily on the numbers. With good letter performance too, and a faster conundrum solve, I cruised to a comprehensive victory. In fact, if I'd just seen an eight a little earlier I could have claimed to outscore the David/Lily combination, which is a target very much worth aiming at. Maybe another time...
As usual, details after the jump.
Showing posts with label Sushma Garudadwajan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sushma Garudadwajan. Show all posts
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Ep 318: David Bradley, Sushma Garudadwajan (November 16, 2011)
Rounds: Here.
Richard segues from some early banter about food to ask David B about how he met his wife, since it turns out that he met her in an all-you-can-eat buffet at Las Vegas. He was apparently impressed at how she "kept going back, and back, and back"... I hope she's not upset at having this said about her on national television!
During their honeymoon in China, David B apparently met someone from Sydney who was representing Australia in the International Mathematics Olympiad. It was hosted by China back in July 1990, so David B has been married for over twenty years. More relevantly to me, I represented Australia in the 1988 IMO, and had a role in training, tutoring, and selecting the 1990 team. So I have a tenuous connection through that person, which from his remarks would have been either Joseph Lau or Dominic Yip. If memory serves me correctly, this was the first Australian team where every member gained a medal -- a fine performance from all involved. (More details about Australia's IMO teams can be found in the Australian Mathematics Trust's webpages.)
Tonight's challenger is Sushma Garudadwajan, who is an engineer and tennis fan. Her favourite player is Roger Federer, and she even got to see him live at the Rod Laver Arena when he won the final of the 2010 Australian Open against Andy Murray.
Both contestants seem to struggle a little with the letters, but the numbers really cause some difficulties. Although not quite as many as the show suggests, I think, as you'll see in round 3. David B leads for most of the match, but a stumble in the final numbers round allows Sushma a chance, and when she gets the conundrum quickly she has a last-round victory 40 to 37.
I had two invalid words this game, which is a bit disconcerting, as well as a numbers round that I'd have liked to do better on. But the other rounds were all better than the contestants managed, and I ended up with a comfortable victory. It's nice to see the numbers rounds mattering in this format, unlike (mostly) Countdown.
As usual, details after the jump.
Richard segues from some early banter about food to ask David B about how he met his wife, since it turns out that he met her in an all-you-can-eat buffet at Las Vegas. He was apparently impressed at how she "kept going back, and back, and back"... I hope she's not upset at having this said about her on national television!
During their honeymoon in China, David B apparently met someone from Sydney who was representing Australia in the International Mathematics Olympiad. It was hosted by China back in July 1990, so David B has been married for over twenty years. More relevantly to me, I represented Australia in the 1988 IMO, and had a role in training, tutoring, and selecting the 1990 team. So I have a tenuous connection through that person, which from his remarks would have been either Joseph Lau or Dominic Yip. If memory serves me correctly, this was the first Australian team where every member gained a medal -- a fine performance from all involved. (More details about Australia's IMO teams can be found in the Australian Mathematics Trust's webpages.)
Tonight's challenger is Sushma Garudadwajan, who is an engineer and tennis fan. Her favourite player is Roger Federer, and she even got to see him live at the Rod Laver Arena when he won the final of the 2010 Australian Open against Andy Murray.
Both contestants seem to struggle a little with the letters, but the numbers really cause some difficulties. Although not quite as many as the show suggests, I think, as you'll see in round 3. David B leads for most of the match, but a stumble in the final numbers round allows Sushma a chance, and when she gets the conundrum quickly she has a last-round victory 40 to 37.
I had two invalid words this game, which is a bit disconcerting, as well as a numbers round that I'd have liked to do better on. But the other rounds were all better than the contestants managed, and I ended up with a comfortable victory. It's nice to see the numbers rounds mattering in this format, unlike (mostly) Countdown.
As usual, details after the jump.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)