One of the unexplained things in meeting college/high school friends, especially those whom you haven’t seen for several years, is that you would always reminisce and laugh about the adventures and misadventures  you had as a student, even though you’ve already talked about it several times before.   Met my college best bud, Glenn yesterday and as expected, the 8-hour talk is mostly about remembrance of things past (Thank you Marcel Proust).   Glenn is also into quiz competitions and is a weekly champion in Channel 9’s Battle of the Brains (BOTB) in 1997.  I am most thankful to him for organizing the reviews and trainings that helped me achieve my double victory in 1997. 

When Glenn and I were in college, we were part of this group of quiz geeks called The PUP Quizzer’s Circle.  There’s only one way to join this exclusive club, you have to be in the top 3 of the quiz competitions it regularly organize.    In short, its a society of nerds and geeks.   In a few years from 1993-1999,  geeks who compete in BOTB are given celebrity status  in my university. . .  an adulation that is comparable to what are feted to UAAP basketball players.   Perhaps its because we don’t compete in UAAP and NCAA and its the only way that PUPians could see their schoolmates on TV.  Honestly, I don’t know what’s the big fuzz about appearing on TV.  At that time, I’m doing it for the honor.

Glenn and I talked about some of the laws or rules of thumbs we formulated in competing in BOTB.     Some it were made out of fun, some were made by observing the show and the competitors,   some are applicable only to PUPians.  We made it just to make our review and training livelier (like, duh, when does reading and memorizing entries in encyclopedias exciting?).    I promised Glenn to make an article about this laws of quiz bee. 

Law of First Thought:

The first answer to enter your mind is usually the correct answer.   

Most of us have encountered this.  We are asked a difficult question then an answer came to our mind.  Then we hesitate and at the last second, changed our mind and gave another answer.  It turns our that the first answer we have is the correct one.   This law may not be correct at all times but very often, this is true. 

Quizzer’s Law of Misogyny:

If you are going against a female competitor/quizzer, rejoice.  You have good chance of winning.  

Please note that this law is applicable only to the college level of BOTB.   If anybody has observed the said show, or any general information quiz bees, there are only a few female competitors or and much fewer who actually wins.   Perhaps females are more focused on their college studies while the men are more scatter brained.  In the first place, quiz bees is suppose to be an extra-curricular activity.    Because of this observation, we concluded that female quizzers are easier competition compared to the men.  I know its bad, its very misogynist, but its just an observation. 

Quizzer’s First Law of Reviewer/Reference:

If your competitor is using Ramon Lorenzo’s book Brain Blitz, rejoice.   You have very good chance of winning.  

Most, if not all newbie quizzers have read the series, Brain Blitz.  You are not a real Filipino quizzer if you haven’t read this book.  These booklets are just about 50 pages thick. Though filled with information that are usually asked in quiz shows, these books are not enough to be used as a sole reviewer/reference book for a quiz competition of a high level such as BOTB. 

 Sorry, Butch.  No offense meant.  I am not saying that your books are bad, on the contrary, in fact, I have a collection of your books and you haven’t signed them yet.   (Ramon Lorenzo is a personal friend and he’s an icon for Filipino quizzers.  He has inspired several batches of quizz competitors, myself included, its an honor to be his friend)

Quizzer’s Second Law of Reviewer/Reference:

If your competitor is carrying thick volumes of Encyclopedia Brittanica, Colliers Encyclopedia or any encyclopedia, rejoice.  You have a good chance of winning.

Let’s face it, nobody is that good to memorize all entries in an Encyclopedia.  Plus, quiz shows doesn’t ask you the entire definition and explanation of a term and they usually use desk encyclocpedias for reference.   So if your opponent is suffering from kyphosis because of carrying those huge volumes of encyclopedia, chances are he’s a newbie and thus, doesn’t pose a good threat. 

Quizzer’s Third Law of Reviewer/Reference:

If your competitor is using American Spectrum Encyclopedia, Barron’s Encyclopedia, Hutchison’s Encyclopedia or any Desk Encyclopedia, pray.  You are in for a tough battle.  Especially if these books are very worn out. 

The books listed above are some of the official reference of BOTB.  So, if your opponent is walking around with those books under their arm like a Baptist pastor, you might be in for a tough fight. 

Quizzer’s Law of Origin:

If your opponent is from UP, UST, DLSU, or ADMU, pray hard.  You will be in a tough battle.  

Need I say more? Most of the top quizzers hails from these universities.  Though, from time to time,  excellent quizzers would come from Lyceum and PLM. 

Quizzer’s Principle of Being Handsome:

If you win in BOTB, you are.  If you don’t win, you’re not.

Might be hard to accept, but most quizzers are geeks.  And geeks are not known for being girl-magnets.    At that time, and specially in my university, if you appeared and won in BOTB, you somehow achieved celebrity status that the opposite gender would kind of notice you more.    So if somebody wins in BOTB, we would often tease him as “gu-guwapo na rin sa wakas and magkaka-girlfriend na”.  

Victor’s Law of Variation:

This is not actually a law, but a joke.  We have one member, Victor, who suffers from malapropism.   Malapropism is the incorrect use of a word by substituting a similar-sounding word with different meaning, usually with a comic effect (Thanks Wikipedia).  But Victor goes a bit further.   One example is when he answered “The Grapes of Warts” (it should be The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck) and he protested to no end that its a variation.    In one quiz competition, this question was asked “What was the password of the Japanese forces for the bombing on Pearl Harbor?”  The answer is Climb Mount Niitaka.  Victor answered ClimbMount Niitacha and he delayed the quiz because he endlessly protested that its a variation.  It’s not. 

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