'ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER?' (1 Viewer)

[Inspector Hammer!]

Perhaps, perhaps not, but I could wring a 5th graders neck.

What a strange concept for a game show, to bring on an adult and pair him or her with one of a panel of 5 5th graders and have him or her answer basic questions that your average 5th grader can answer.

What gets me about this show is that the title isn't really accurate, it should be called How Much Have You Forgotten Since You Were in 5th Grade? since it's not really a question of the adults not knowing the answers but rather they merely have forgotten them, so really it's an experiment in adult memorization, how much do you remember from 5th grade?

If you find yourself stumped on some of these questions don't beat yourself up too badly, you must remember that these kids are learning this stuff now, it's fresh in their minds where as us adults have accumulated so much knowledge since 5th grade that the insignificant stuff get's filed away in our memory banks, some of it never to be given any thought again in our lifetime.

I mean really, when was the last time you were asked and were required to know what month Columbus day fell on lol?

This is extranious knowledge, and trust me, in 20 years time most of the kids featured on the show would have forgotten it too.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

> What gets me about this show is that the title isn't really accurate, it should be called How Much Have You Forgotten Since You Were in 5th Grade?

I agree, but I think it's a great concept, and the ratings would tend to prove I'm right.

Some of the questions people get wrong are amazing, even for adults. For example- how many states border the Pacific Ocean? Every American adult should be able to answer that one. It's not a memorization thing like naming all the Presidents or state capitals.

Another easy one- which country shares the longest border with the US? Well, first, how many choices are there? And second, if you ever saw a map, which border looks longer- the one with Canada, or the one with Mexico? It's not even close.

 

[Patrick Sun]

The ratings are more from having an American Idol lead-in.

 

[Holadem]

Yet she screwed it up, leaving me to believe that it was staged. It's just hard for me to believe that a college educated person wouldn't know the answer to that question... even an American .

I was surprised at the REM sleep answer, which I knew, but only from recent years. They sure as heck didn't teach me that in 5th grade.

There is a serious problem with the show though, even when it's obvious that they know the answer, the contestants drag it out on purpose, as opposed to other shows where their hesitations create real suspense.

I am really curious about the selection process on this show. Any quiz wiz can go in there and tear it apart, so how to they make sure they pick people ignorant enough to make the show interesting.

Overall though, the concept of this show makes me uneasy. I'll explain after one more screening I guess.

The Nielsen numbers were phenomenal, it broke some kind of record for a premiere.

--
H

 

[Dave_Brown]

The show isn't bad, but it sure is a pain to watch them stretch 5 minutes of question and answer into 30 (or in last nights case 60) minutes of television. They need to edit it better to cut down on the drama of not knowing an answer to get more questions and more people through.

Although.... the lady at the end last night was a MILF, so I guess spending some extra time there isn't a bad thing.

 

[ChristopherG]

I find this show highly annoying and can't turn the dial fast enough.

 

[Scott_J]

Use the people who were rejected as contestants on Deal or No Deal?

 

[Tom McA]

OK, my wife and I both got the question about the Dewey Decimal system wrong, unless we mis-heard the question. We thought fiction books were NOT cataloged by the DD system, that they're simply alphabetized by author. This is driving us nuts because, well, we THOUGHT we were smarter than 5th graders. Any librarians out there who saw the show and can elucidate?

 

[Ken Chan]

Wikipedia:What was the accepted answer? Four? Change "border" to "share a border with" and it arguably becomes five.

 

[Henry Gale]

Another title suggestion: Jaywalking - Primetime

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

It's five. Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska and Hawaii. Nothing deceiving about the question, just a lot of people forget about our 49th and 50th States.

I've only caught one episode, the one last night. Fun show, but some of the questions I sure didn't learn by 5th grade, if ever.

Personally it seems like a show that is going to reinforce the question that gets asked by nearly every student that has ever existed...."when am I going to actually need to know this?" The truth is you probably won't, unless you end up on a gameshow called Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

 

[Brent M]

A show like this is just another sign that we're very near the end of civilization.

 

[MarkHastings]

Does Hawaii technically border the pacific (in reference to the verb "border")? LOL

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I'm shocked that no one here has pointed out that I used the word 'ring' incorrectly.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

Absolutely. Hawaii's only border is the Pacific. Unless I'm missing something about your question... The smiley throws me off. :p

 

[MarkHastings]

I was saying it sarcastically. I was sarcastically challenging the thought that it doesn't really border it, it's IN it! LOL

 

[Garrett Lundy]

I don't know about your educations, but I certainly didn't learn elements until highschool ('Na' is what chemical?).

 

[Holadem]

Early Junior High for me. Electrolysis and that sort of stuff. 5th grade is possible, but I strongly doubt that.

--
H

 

[David Norman]

Definately Jr High on the elements for me. Of course I'm old enough that the chart was significantly smaller to begin with. My answer from the 5th grade about the Pacific Border states would have correctly been 3.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

Phew, that's what I thought you were going for. Probably didn't help that I had just been reading a board where sarcasm is a lost cause.