Every time I take the online Jeopardy test I fail, miserably; no- spectacularly! But sometimes the contestants are just as dumb. But it’s not ignorance or  lack of knowledge, it’s pressure.

Most of the time the Jeopardy question/answer is embedded in the answer, which is revealed verbal and visually. Usually, in champions and generals, instinct and intuition take over and reveal the path to true knowledge. It’s only when we second guess, go against our intuition, that wrongness prevails. We doubt and allow our minds to  fall downward into a plausible, but often incorrect second choice.

Scenario One.

Just before the last commercial break Alex Trebek announces the Final Category. It was “Islands”. I guessed Manhattan, before the commercial and before the answer was revealed. Then when I heard the answer. “It’s population of 2 million has not changed since 1886.” I over thought and changed my mind to Hong Kong. I would have lost. I probably would have written Manhattan and then scratched it out and put Hong Kong. It’s a teachable moment.

The other night the Final Category was Animated Characters. The answer was;

“This character is based on a composite of Clara “Two Doves” Liscomb, who is her direct descendant and supermodel Christy Turlington.

Now the question is in the answer theory would lead towards Pocahontas, i.e. the Two Doves in quotations reference. Of course I, guided by my field marshals sense of intuitive correctness choose the right response. But only one of the three contestants also guessed the answer. One guessed Belle, from Beauty and the Beast, which was a good try. The other guessed Ariel, from the Little Mermaid. Dumbest question answer ever. I’ve seen Clara “Two Doves” Liscomb, and she doesn’t look Mermish at all.