Why Alex Trabek is So Smart

Alex Trabek, the longtime host of Jeopardy! seems like a very smart guy. He knows the answers to so many questions, "Oh, I'm sorry, it was Victor Hugo." (He does get a bit swarmy when the answer is about something French).

Category: Education Level
The answer is : 6
The question: How many DAYS did Alex Trabek spend in college?

Now, of course, not going to college doesn't make you not smart, but could it be that we think Alex Trabek is smarter than he is?

I don't have the reference, but one thing I remember from my psychology (neuroscience) degree was that there were some studies done in the 80's that were in a game show format. Participants either asked trivia questions or gave answers, and they switch roles for different audiences. Audiences were asked to rate how smart they thought the participants were - both the questions givers and the answer givers. The audience thought the people asking the questions were smarter than the ones answering the questions, no matter who was asking. The numbers were quite extraordinary.

We have a strong tendency to think the person asking the questions is smart - which is why the crooks at Enron could convince other that they were the "Smartest Person in Room."

This came up when a friend and collegue, who is wicked smaht - he went to a Ivy League school, he's a genius,and he's very technically proficient - was asked some questions about algorithms in a techie interview and didn't quite have the answers (neither would I, I only minored in math/computers). Most experienced folks know that you can't figure out someone's ability by a few technical questions in an interview. That strategy only assesses the intersection of knowledge of the interviewer and the interviewee, both of which can be vast and non-intersecting. This tactic makes the questioner feel real good about themselves since they knew something the other person doesn't. It deflates the person being interviewed, who is already nervous.

I approach it differently. I look for what I know about what the person claims they know. I then drill down into what they did to see if they had a thought process to intelligently make the decisions they made given the constraints they were under. This gives the person confidence since they are talking about something they know, not something you pulled out of the air. It allows you to have a humane interaction, and assess the person under a situation that would be more normal. Hopefully, you also talk enough tech to realize how knowledgeable the person and if what their resume says holds water.