Daily Mail at it again

[Milton Keynes Seagull]

I'd like to know what happened to those contestants from Sussex University who achieved the worst score ever in the history of the competition. In the 70s I think. Presumably they're all living under the pier or drunk themselves to death years ago. Alternatively, they're probably running the country.

That would explain a lot.

 

[Arthur]

Newspaper in sensationalism shocker!

Hold the front the page!

 

[Pavilionaire]

Ignoring the Daily Mail binfest the article makes very valid points.

People like Guttenplan and Trimble are as intelligent young people as you're ever likely to come across, yet history shows people of their ilk either stay in academia or take 'nerdy' jobs. It's almost as if people with a love of knowledge are reluctant to pursue the limelight.

People as clever as this seldom go into politics, which is very revealing...

 

[Gwylan]

People like Guttenplan and Trimble are as intelligent young people as you're ever likely to come across, yet history shows people of their ilk either stay in academia or take 'nerdy' jobs. It's almost as if people with a love of knowledge are reluctant to pursue the limelight.

People as clever as this seldom go into politics, which is very revealing...

But as I said earlier, I don't think a career in academia is a sign of being a failure. Nor is being a teacher or a researcher one step removed from penury and the workhousse

The Mail article seems to suggest that anyone who's not a government minister or a chief-executive must be some sort of failure - which is an incredibly narrow-minded position to take.

People who go into politics are, on the whole, people who devote their time to politics at university. I knew several people at uni who announced their intention of going into politics and threw themselves into countless political meetiings, only one of them seemed to have had any national presence (and that wasn't as a politician). I can't imagine any of these people going on to Uni Challenge (but obviously some do as a previous UC winner is now a Tory MP).

 

[Questions]

Nah. They're all complete failures.

"... they are following in the footsteps of the original 1962 winners from Leicester. Geoffrey Ford, who was studying geology, went on to become a university librarian at Bristol, while his team mate John Hewitt is a lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University".

yeah, but they`re not proper jobs are they ?

 

[Easy 10]

Having studied law and psychology, she went on to work as an office temp before becoming a legal secretary in Manchester. And, despite the fact that she is a Mensa member with an IQ of 168, her preferred leisure activity is Morris dancing.

Morris dancing ? Well SHOCK HORROR. What a TRAGIC waste of her IQ.

 

[El Presidente]

For those of you not 'In The Know' I think Gwylan had his tongue in his cheek when starting this thread, as he was a member of the team that won University Challenge in (about) 1980/1.

He's also one of the nicest blokes I have ever met.

 

[alan partridge]

Bit of a weird article that. It seemed to be suggesting that academic types ended up in academic type jobs to me.

 

[Gwylan]

For those of you not 'In The Know' I think Gwylan had his tongue in his cheek when starting this thread, as he was a member of the team that won University Challenge in (about) 1980/1.

He's also one of the nicest blokes I have ever met.

I think most people on NSC knew about me and UC.

The article did piss me off though as it seemed to imply that everyone who won it is weird, whereas most people on it are perfectly normal. The four of us who won, for example, were all perfectly average blokes - liked a pint, liked sport and all have had good (non-academic) jobs. I'm sure you'd see the same if you examined all the winners.

I'm sure there are some weirdos who have won it - but I bet you'd find similar results if you examined the winners of Deal or No Deal, say.

 

[Coca-Cola Kid]

Totally off topic here, but, Poet Laurette, Carol Ann Duffy was pissed at a poetry live course last year, just a month before she became Poet Laurette was quite funny

 

[User removed 4]

I think most people on NSC knew about me and UC.

The article did piss me off though as it seemed to imply that everyone who won it is weird, whereas most people on it are perfectly normal. The four of us who won, for example, were all perfectly average blokes - liked a pint, liked sport and all have had good (non-academic) jobs. I'm sure you'd see the same if you examined all the winners.

I'm sure there are some weirdos who have won it - but I bet you'd find similar results if you examined the winners of Deal or No Deal, say.

Have you kept in touch with your old team mates ?

 

[pork pie]

... ... the article itself says that 40% of winners are in academia - scarcely a sign of failure.

Really? As the saying goes, those who can do - those who cannot talk about it!

 

[Gwylan]

Have you kept in touch with your old team mates ?

I wouldn't say we're bosom buddies but we exchange emails now and then and meet up for a drink occasionally. I even went to Bradford City v Brighton with one of them a few years back (he lives just outside Bradford).

I'm in more contact with one of my old school mates who was on the winning team two years before I was - we exchange reminiscences every time Challenge makes the papers (someone else from my school was on the winning team, two years earlier than him - I maintain that we're the only state school to have produced three UC winners but have no way of proving that).

 

[User removed 4]

I wouldn't say we're bosom buddies but we exchange emails now and then and meet up for a drink occasionally. I even went to Bradford City v Brighton with one of them a few years back (he lives just outside Bradford).

I'm in more contact with one of my old school mates who was on the winning team two years before I was - we exchange reminiscences every time Challenge makes the papers (someone else from my school was on the winning team, two years earlier than him - I maintain that we're the only state school to have produced three UC winners but have no way of proving that).

Did you go to falmer ?

 

[The Large One]

I think most people on NSC knew about me and UC.

The article did piss me off though as it seemed to imply that everyone who won it is weird, whereas most people on it are perfectly normal. The four of us who won, for example, were all perfectly average blokes - liked a pint, liked sport and all have had good (non-academic) jobs. I'm sure you'd see the same if you examined all the winners.

I'm sure there are some weirdos who have won it - but I bet you'd find similar results if you examined the winners of Deal or No Deal, say.

I didn't know about it.

But I do now...

University Challenge Reunited:News and Views May 2002

 

[Gwylan]

Did you go to falmer ?

Varndean

 

[essbee]

I think what the Mail fails to appreciate is that everyone is subject to the same
pressures in life and the same ups and downs, all of which shape us into what
we are. So, in a way - we're all the same - irrespective of whether we've been
on Univ. Chall. have an Oxbridge education etc.

We're all failures in life really.

 

[Gwylan]

I think what the Mail fails to appreciate is that everyone is subject to the same
pressures in life and the same ups and downs, all of which shape us into what
we are. So, in a way - we're all the same - irrespective of whether we've been
on Univ. Chall. have an Oxbridge education etc.

We're all failures in life really.

Exactly.

Or as Damon Runyon put it; "“I came to the conclusion long ago that all life is six to five against"

 

[Tooting Gull]

On a related note, I see the Evening Standard in its editorial last night promised "unbiased coverage" of the election. Hmmm. Anyone else consider this an empty promise?

I think the front-page headline today was something like 'More bosses turn on Labour' over the NI plans - next to a lovely picture of glowing, pregnant SamCam. How anyone could think that was biased is totally beyond me.

 

[Brixtaan]

Long live Mail bashing! (one of my favourite hobbies)