Monday, October 17, 2005

Better Incomplete Than Incorrect

While answering a question in a quiz, if you're not sure about the entire answer, omit the parts of the answer that you are not really sure about.

Also, say the parts you are sure about loud and confident (in oral rounds) or conveniently abbreviate. Maybe the QM won't notice or the answer that you say might be unambiguous enough for him.

Let's say the answer to a question is John F Kennedy, but you are not sure about the John part. Just say Kennedy. Never say James (often you will be sure that the name starts with a J) or, god forbid, Robert Kennedy (another person famous in his own right).

Even if the answer is incomplete, the QM might give you half-points but if it is wrong you won't get any. Mask your ignorance in the quiz. But be aware of your ignorance and work towards gaining some knowledge in that area afterwards. Questions do repeat and next time around, you might not be so lucky.

1 comment:

  1. I heard this from my senior-teammate in our college team in Kerala in the late 1980s. Probably a joke.

    Seems that in a quiz at the time, there was a question about the person who presented the Jnanpith to Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. A team said 'pass' in a confident fashion and were awarded the points, because the correct answer was Octavio Paz.

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