Archive for March 1st, 2011

* Congressman Holt defeats “Watson” at Jeopardy

Posted by DXer on March 1, 2011

Congressman Holt & Watson

******

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 10:07 AM on 2nd March 2011

When Watson the supercomputer trounced Jeopardy! legend Ken Jennings, it seemed machine had finally triumphed over mankind.
But there could be hope yet after congressman Rush Holt – who happens to have a doctorate in physics – beat the IBM superbrain in a special exhibition match.
Mr Holt scored $8,600 to Watson’s $6,200 in the quiz, which pitted five congressmen against the computer at a Washington hotel.
The 62-year-old Democratic Representative from New Jersey has form – he was a five-time Jeopardy! champion 35 years ago.
None of his prowess seemed to have deserted him as he topped Watson on questions including: ‘What is a three-letter nickname for the Beatles?’ The answer – ‘what is Fab?’.
In a round called ‘presidential rhyme time’ he also correctly responded to ‘Herbert’s military strategy’ with ‘Hoover’s manoeuvres’ .
But he was outpaced by the computer on ‘Ambrose Bierce described this as “a temporary insanity curable by marriage”.’ The answer? ‘What is love’.
None of the other representatives managed to beat Watson, who won overall and ended up with a total of $40,300 compared to their combined score of $30,000.
Last month Watson, an immensely powerful computer which can understand language, triumphed over two Jeopardy! champions, Mr Jennings and Brad Rutter, in a special version of the trivia show.