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I think the most telling part of that blog post is: "Caitlin spins and guesses an ‘L’. Note that she has not yet solved the puzzle at this point…if she was sur

by ambirex 16y ago

I think the most telling part of that blog post is: "Caitlin spins and guesses an ‘L’. Note that she has not yet solved the puzzle at this point…if she was sure, she would have guessed ‘T’, a safe guess worth three times the money. Why guess a second-tier letter like ‘L’? She’s probably assuming the first word (_ ‘ _ _), with its apostrophe, is “I’LL,” but can’t figure out what comes next. “I’ll put?” “I’ll say?”"

scott_s 16y ago
It's worth noting that she claims she had solved the puzzle by that point: She landed on $900 and picked L. "I'm not sure why," she says. "I should have picked G or T, but I think because it was in the middle of the biggest word, I got stuck on it." She would have made $1,800 more with G or T. But had she picked G or T, she wouldn't have solved the puzzle with just a single letter. She would have solved it with three. She probably would have still gone on to crush the game — Burke ended up taking it for more than $53,000 in cash and prizes — but she wouldn't have become the miracle contestant.
- robryan 16y ago
  L seems better to make it certain, knowing the first word wasn't I'LL and the L in the middle of FEELING probably made her much more confident, picking G or T could have meant no letters correct if the first word was I'LL.
  - sukuriant 16y ago
    Unfortunately, that also contradicts what she said in the article: (before her spin) She was positive she was right. "There was no doubt in my mind," she says. (when choosing her letter) She landed on $900 and picked L. "I'm not sure why," she says. "I should have picked G or T, but I think because it was in the middle of the biggest word, I got stuck on it." (both quotes from the root article)
    - robryan 16y ago
      On some level I assume that's what she was doing, probably some level of pressure on the game show, she could be sure but some part of her probably wanted to confirm it a little more.
raganwald 16y ago
What I found interesting about Ken's post was his conjecture that many other players have solved the text after just one letter, but carried on playing to maximize their cash winnings. According to him, we only know about her because she chose to solve the problem and not risk the wheel. Thus, ending the game after one letter may be extremely rare, but solving the problem after one letter may be less rare than it seems.
- nollidge 16y ago
  Used to watch the show with my Grandma a lot as a kid, and very often people who know the answer (you can generally tell based on their confidence, and the fact that they never buy a vowel) will keep spinning in order to make more money.

by ambirex 16y ago

scott_s 16y ago

It's worth noting that she claims she had solved the puzzle by that point: She landed on $900 and picked L. "I'm not sure why," she says. "I should have picked G or T, but I think because it was in the middle of the biggest word, I got stuck on it." She would have made $1,800 more with G or T. But had she picked G or T, she wouldn't have solved the puzzle with just a single letter. She would have solved it with three. She probably would have still gone on to crush the game — Burke ended up taking it for more than $53,000 in cash and prizes — but she wouldn't have become the miracle contestant.

robryan 16y ago
L seems better to make it certain, knowing the first word wasn't I'LL and the L in the middle of FEELING probably made her much more confident, picking G or T could have meant no letters correct if the first word was I'LL.
- sukuriant 16y ago
  Unfortunately, that also contradicts what she said in the article: (before her spin) She was positive she was right. "There was no doubt in my mind," she says. (when choosing her letter) She landed on $900 and picked L. "I'm not sure why," she says. "I should have picked G or T, but I think because it was in the middle of the biggest word, I got stuck on it." (both quotes from the root article)
  - robryan 16y ago
    On some level I assume that's what she was doing, probably some level of pressure on the game show, she could be sure but some part of her probably wanted to confirm it a little more.

raganwald 16y ago

What I found interesting about Ken's post was his conjecture that many other players have solved the text after just one letter, but carried on playing to maximize their cash winnings. According to him, we only know about her because she chose to solve the problem and not risk the wheel. Thus, ending the game after one letter may be extremely rare, but solving the problem after one letter may be less rare than it seems.

nollidge 16y ago
Used to watch the show with my Grandma a lot as a kid, and very often people who know the answer (you can generally tell based on their confidence, and the fact that they never buy a vowel) will keep spinning in order to make more money.