PrintJuly 29, 2004
The Unbearable Brightness of Being Ken
Thirty—eight straight games, over $1,300,000 in winnings, every record broken and 76 challengers crushed by Jeopardy! juggernaut Ken Jennings. His phenomenal performance has generated responses that run the gamut from love to hate; from deep suspicion to cultish adoration, while others are left to musings upon the nature of genius and fairness. It all began with the decision at the outset of the show's 20th season to allow contestants more than 5 wins. You kept on playing until you lost. Obviously nobody considered the possibility that a Ken Jennings would appear on the game show horizon; that a 30 year old Mormon software engineer whose countenance defines "nerd" would be visited upon them. And this is where the "fairness" aspect arises. In the old format the 5—time champ would be retired. The next time he or she competed, it was against their peers —— other 5—time winners. The current situation presents us with...(Read Full Article)
