Whee.

[xp_cypher]

If anyone had any vague thought of trying out for a game show or reality show or some such, don't bother. Thought I'd take a stab at trying out for Jeopardy, just on a lark. And of course the first question on the prospective candidate questionaire is 'Are you X-factor positive?' Phrased a lot more politely and roundabout than that, for sure, but still. And it of course leads to a oh-so-nicely phrased 'thanks but no thanks' sort of response if you say yes.

Bleh. There goes my dream of winning, like, 80 times, and making a lot of money.

Comments

[x-tarot.livejournal.com]

I wish I -had- a better idea, but I do not, and this asks ugly questions - is being born with an advantage like Doug's power, or yours, any different from being born with a gift for trivia and an amazing memory?

[x-crowdofone.livejournal.com]

Dunno. But I'm pretty sure the definition of cheating hasn't changed.

They're being heavy-handed with the "no mutants" policy, but really, mutants haven't been a public presence for long enough for more elegant solutions to be all that widespread.

[x-tarot.livejournal.com]

A telepath giving someone else answers or getting them from someone else, that would be cheating, yes.

But would a mutant gift that let you know them a little bit faster or better? How is that different from a savant?

[x-crowdofone.livejournal.com]

I don't think it is. But how do you tell if a mutant's telling the truth about what they can do when they sign up?

And say you can screen for particular kinds of mutation--what's to stop people from going too far the other way, and suddenly the NCAA championships come down to who has the most mutants on their team? That's just as dangerous as not letting mutants compete at all.

[x-forge.livejournal.com]

It's interesting - I had the chance to experience that firsthand after being "just human" for a while. I learned two things: first, that even without mutant powers, I can still use the information I've learned to solve problems the way I did before. But second, that my power seriously assists me not so much with recall but with just knowing stuff. And going off of what Marius says (having experience with both mine and Doug's powers), Doug's brain and my brain probably work a lot alike.

In other words - if Doug could score exactly the same on the qualifying tests WITHOUT his powers (not that I'm advocating inhibitors. Not only are they ethically abominable, the health risks are way too dangerous for casual use) - then his mutant ability wouldn't be an advantage. But if the presence of his ability alters his chances at the event, then it DOES present an unfair advantage.

[x-icarus.livejournal.com]

Why doesn't Jeopardy just hire a telepath to monitor the game to make sure that there's no funny business going on?

[x-forge.livejournal.com]

Same reason courts can't use a telepath to determine veracity of witness testimony - how do you trust the telepath? You'd have to have a telepath monitoring the telepath, ad infinitum.

And what about contestants (or jurors, or job applicants) who happen to have more or less psychic shielding through training or natural ability (or inability in my case)? For example - I'm told by the Professor that I have next to no psychic shielding, even after going through the mental exercises he's been helping me with. Yet apparently going into Jamie's brain is like speed-reading the phone book.

Or the possibility that people might not consent to being telepathically monitored? Considering that telepathy is ranked as the number-one feared mutation around by some of the independent polling groups, it's understandable that people fear the very concept, even those who aren't anti-mutant.