Jeopardy Champion Amy Schneider Knows More Than You Do
January 1, 2022 1:48 PM Subscribe
"Queer and transgender people don't just exist. We thrive."
"There is something particularly uplifting, magical even, about Schneider's winning run. It feels good to tune in each night and cheer her on. It is cathartic to root for a trans champion at a time when efforts continue to try to block or roll back the rights of transgender people in the US.
Having someone to root for, whose wins we can celebrate, is something we can all relate to more emphatically and empathetically in light of the surging Omicron variant and the murky immediate future it portends.
Indeed, Schneider is an inspiration not only to transgender and queer people but to females of all ages and allies of social justice and equality as well. Not to mention people who just love "Jeopardy!" and can find fellow feeling with Schneider, who has been meticulous in paying homage to the winning women who came before her.
Schneider's success feels like vindication for those of us who have too often been confronted, at work or in our personal lives, with entitled or condescending men, proclaiming to know the truth and what's best for the rest of us. No, mansplainers. Step aside. Amy Schneider knows more than you do."
"There is something particularly uplifting, magical even, about Schneider's winning run. It feels good to tune in each night and cheer her on. It is cathartic to root for a trans champion at a time when efforts continue to try to block or roll back the rights of transgender people in the US.
Having someone to root for, whose wins we can celebrate, is something we can all relate to more emphatically and empathetically in light of the surging Omicron variant and the murky immediate future it portends.
Indeed, Schneider is an inspiration not only to transgender and queer people but to females of all ages and allies of social justice and equality as well. Not to mention people who just love "Jeopardy!" and can find fellow feeling with Schneider, who has been meticulous in paying homage to the winning women who came before her.
Schneider's success feels like vindication for those of us who have too often been confronted, at work or in our personal lives, with entitled or condescending men, proclaiming to know the truth and what's best for the rest of us. No, mansplainers. Step aside. Amy Schneider knows more than you do."
Was thinking about posting the Defector piece and hadn't seen this one yet, so thanks to both Kybard and Neely O'Hara.
One insightful part of her Defector essay talks about what the show actually tests, along with memorization and reflexes:
posted by the primroses were over at 3:17 PM on January 1, 2022 [17 favorites]
One insightful part of her Defector essay talks about what the show actually tests, along with memorization and reflexes:
Jeopardy!’s central gimmick (“the contestants give answers, not questions!”) is a remnant of the quiz show scandals of the 1950s, and for a long time I thought it was kind of embarrassingly outdated. But I’ve come to see that this gimmick, perhaps inadvertently, teaches an underrated skill, which is simply understanding what you’re being asked. The gimmick of the show forces a weird kind of syntax on the clues, so that, oftentimes, you have to untangle the question before you can even begin to find the answer. A recent clue read “M is for moonlight, as in ‘Moonlight Feels Right’ by Starbuck, as well as this xylophone with an unexpected–& amazing!–solo,” which requires some deciphering to realize that the actual question being asked is, “What type of xylophone is used in the song ‘Moonlight Feels Right’?” (or even just, “What’s a type of xylophone that we might expect you to know?”). And that skill, to cut through imprecise and convoluted language in order to recognize the real question at hand, is the only Jeopardy! skill that’s actually useful in daily life.This season has had a lot of champions qualify for the tournament of champions, and in general I'd rather see more turnover as a viewer, but it would be hard not to be thrilled for Amy. She's killer at final Jeopardy!, although she often has such a big lead that she doesn't need to be.
posted by the primroses were over at 3:17 PM on January 1, 2022 [17 favorites]
Great to see Amy surface on the Blue here. She's amazing
posted by JoeXIII007 at 4:55 PM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by JoeXIII007 at 4:55 PM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
What a lovely person. I'm so happy for her! And that Defector essay was fabulous.
And she is funny:
And she is funny:
...given my traditional Catholic upbringing, I obviously can’t just let somebody compliment me without resistance. If I just go around letting people praise me willy-nilly, what’s next? Having self-worth? Pursuing my dreams? Pre-marital sex?!?!posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 6:28 PM on January 1, 2022 [10 favorites]
Thanks for this. As an out trans person who tries to be a role model in my field -- but who has reached my forties having had very few trans role models for myself -- I really treasure people like Amy. Not just her intelligence, but her wisdom and kindness and humour: all of that makes me proud and gives me something to aspire to.
posted by contrapositive at 8:13 PM on January 1, 2022 [13 favorites]
posted by contrapositive at 8:13 PM on January 1, 2022 [13 favorites]
It’s possibly recency bias, but Amy might be the best Jeopardy player I’ve ever seen. She doesn’t rely on gimmicks, like the way James Holzhauer would bounce around the board or the very deliberate way of speaking employed by Matt Amodio (obviously both incredible players). She plays the game very traditionally but just happens to know a bunch about a lot of different things. In one sense it has been really fun to watch her streak, on the other it has been kind of like watching those old school pro wrestling matches where one wrestler just completely dominates the other and there is no doubt about the outcome.
posted by The Gooch at 7:39 PM on January 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by The Gooch at 7:39 PM on January 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
Ever since Holzhauer's run there has been a lot fewer players that just start at the top of a category and work their way down the clues. There is a lot more starting 2nd-3rd from the bottom hunting for daily doubles and then betting big. She's also very good at the thing Ken Jennings is great at where they read the clue to figure out if they're going to buzz in and then listening to the rhythm of the host to beat the others to the buzzer before finally figuring out the correct response and giving it.
Most of the contestants know most of the answers to most of the clues. The audition process is such that you're not there unless you're smart. Being smarter than the other competitors is definitely an advantage but Amy has also been a lot better on the buzzer, goes hunting for daily doubles, and is fearless in better on herself.
I like to think that mefi's own Coffeemate had a hand in inspiring Amy's big bets.
posted by VTX at 1:00 PM on January 3, 2022
Most of the contestants know most of the answers to most of the clues. The audition process is such that you're not there unless you're smart. Being smarter than the other competitors is definitely an advantage but Amy has also been a lot better on the buzzer, goes hunting for daily doubles, and is fearless in better on herself.
I like to think that mefi's own Coffeemate had a hand in inspiring Amy's big bets.
posted by VTX at 1:00 PM on January 3, 2022
I am an Amy fan, but I'm not a fan of the way they're starting every episode with a trivia item about how dominant Amy has been. Maybe other viewers are enjoying hearing how many clues she answers correctly or what her average winnings are, but I feel bad for the challengers starting their likely single game of Jeopardy! with a little speech about how great the champion is. (She is great! Compliment her at the end of the episode after she crushes it again, or after someone finally manages to beat her.)
Today's game was competitive though, which was fun. Odds are good she'll break a million in total winnings tomorrow if she wins again, given her average winnings.
posted by the primroses were over at 4:38 PM on January 6, 2022
Today's game was competitive though, which was fun. Odds are good she'll break a million in total winnings tomorrow if she wins again, given her average winnings.
posted by the primroses were over at 4:38 PM on January 6, 2022
I truly thought she was going to break Ken Jennings record. What a run.
posted by The Gooch at 8:39 AM on January 27, 2022
posted by The Gooch at 8:39 AM on January 27, 2022
40 wins is a satisfying number! I enjoyed this piece she wrote for the Jeopardy! website reflecting on the experience.
I prefer the regular games as a viewer to the tournaments, but this season's tournament of champions should be a good one.
posted by the primroses were over at 6:50 AM on January 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
I prefer the regular games as a viewer to the tournaments, but this season's tournament of champions should be a good one.
posted by the primroses were over at 6:50 AM on January 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
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she seems like a generally delightful, well adjusted person: posted by Kybard at 2:27 PM on January 1, 2022 [22 favorites]