It was during Spring 2006. A friend of mine and I were carpooling to work when we got a call from a mutual friend telling us that Jeopardy was holding tryouts that afternoon at Jordon Commons in Sandy, Utah. We decided to go give it a shot after work.

When we arrived, the first thing I saw was the Jeopardy! Brain Bus:

Jeopardy! Brain Bus

Note: This picture was taken while parked outside the Memorial Union at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, not at Jordan Commons. I don’t know when it was taken, or if it is different than the one I saw. Regardless, it is very close if not identical.

It was getting late, and there was less than an hour left before their scheduled time was up, so we walked past the Clue Crew and the mock Jeopardy! set where people were playing the game and winning little prizes (including branded key chains, water bottles and pens) to find out where we needed to go. It was fortunate we did, as the mock set was not the tryout area. Instead, we were directed to a large conference room.

Upon entering the tryout area, I saw a large square area of tables dividing the room into an outer area (for people attempting to qualify) and an inner area (for those administering the process). I walked up to the table and was given one of several available tests. I think there were at least five, as I was taking one marked #5 at the top. The test was not timed and consisted of ten questions on a variety of different topics. My friend had test #3. We both took our test and handed it back and waited briefly as they were scored. My friend (a very bright person) did not pass his test. Based on some of the questions he shared with me later, it does not surprise me, and I doubt I’d have passed his test either. Fortunately, I had test #5, and I passed it! They would not tell us how many we got right, or what the cut off level was. I suspect 70% was the cutoff, and I think I barely made it.

As we left, they were shutting down the mock Jeopardy! set and we were offered several prizes, even though we didn’t play the game. I was allowed to take extra, and had enough to give several of my friends and family trinkets.

Passing my test simply meant I qualified to take another test the next day at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. A test being administered during the day. A work day. Which would entail taking time off from work. And I’d just started a new job a few weeks earlier.

I really wanted to go take the test the next day, but I was worried about whether or not I could get time off at the last minute … as much as three hours off, with lots of stuff going on at work (which predated my hire) that required quite a bit of overtime as it was. Fortunately, when I asked, they were great about letting me take the time off and very supportive.

I had been assigned a particular time to go take my test, and was warned in very clear terms that if I arrived even a second after the doors were closed, I would miss out on my chance to take the test. Further, since I qualified for this test, I would have to wait at least a year before I would be eligible to test again. The year wait wasn’t a big deal, as I doubted they’d come to Utah again that soon, and I didn’t expect I’d want to travel to attempt to qualify.

They talked to us for a while, explaining what the process would be that day. We were required to fill out some paperwork about ourselves, our eligibility, potentially interesting facts for the show, and so on. We were all given a sheet to record our answers on, then we were played a video of Alex Trebek welcoming us and giving us more information. Next came the questions, also played on video. It was a 50 answer test. Each answer was displayed on screen and read aloud to us, just as it would be during an actual game. After each question was read, we had a very short period to write our question (though I don’t think we were required to write a full question due to time constraints). I don’t remember exactly how much time we had, but the Wikipedia article on the subject states it is only eight seconds per answer. That’s probably right, but when you’re taking the test, it feels a lot shorter.

After all the answers were given, the tests for the group (I think there might have been as many as 40 being tested in the group with me) were all taken and the administrators left the room to grade them, during which time we were left to talk amongst ourselves. I knew I didn’t do well, and doubted I’d be selected to move on. I suspect I got 25 to 30 of the questions correct, and bombed the rest of them. They were difficult questions, but that wasn’t much consolation. A while later they came back in and read the names of 5 to 10 people that passed the test. I’d like to tell you my name was in that list, but alas, it was not (just as I suspected). As with the previous test, no one was told how they did (other than a simple pass / fail), nor were we told how many questions were required to pass.

Oh, and before I forget: I want to tell you that Ken Jennings, who attended school in Utah, and is the person who won the most games on Jeopardy! (to this point), was one of the people in the test that day, so in a way I was beat by Ken Jennings! I want to tell you that, but it’s not true. HA!

Seriously though, I had a blast through the process. Someday, if I don’t have to put myself out too much, I’d like to try again. I wonder if Wikipedia or Uncyclopedia would be the better source of research to prepare myself for my next tryout?

Fast forward about 9 years. I developed a really bad case of strep throat. My dad took me to the ER, the doctor identified it as strep, and asked if I’d had my tonsils out. I thought “Isn’t it obvious?” but answered “Yes, why?” He said there had been some regrowth of the tonsil tissue, but that it wasn’t anything like normal healthy tonsil size. Interesting.

Over the next 16 or so years, my rate of strep infection gradually went up. From once a year, to twice, to thrice, and so on. Finally as I was approaching 30, I had an 8 week window where I came down with 4 separate infections. I’d take the antibiotics as prescribed, but in less than a week after getting “better” I’d be right back to the doctors office. I got really good at self diagnosis of strep vs a regular sore throat.

Several times over the years I had asked doctors if having another tonsillectomy might help, and the idea was always dismissed out of hand. I finally asked the latest doctor, who also dismissed it. I then recounted the above to him, he looked at my throat again, said “You’ve really had these out before?” and gave me a referral to an ear/nose/throat specialist after I said yes.

That specialist took one look at my tonsils, horribly scarred from previous surgery & years of repeated infection, said “you poor guy”, scheduled a surgery, and wrote me a refillable prescription for antibiotics so I wouldn’t have to come in every time I had a recurrence. I think I had to use it twice before surgery (a few months out).

I’ve had maybe two infections in the 10+ years since that second surgery, and they’ve never been as bad as before.

Anyway, the point I had originally intended to make. While at BYU, I had one of those infections and went to the health center for treatment. I just *knew* I had strep. A quick strep test came back negative. I told the doctor I was pretty sure I had strep, and he was kinda rude about telling me he was the doctor and knew what strep was, but it successfully bullied me into second guessing myself. I waited through two more weeks of continual and building pain before I finally went to UVRMC’s ER. The ER doctor took a culture (rather than the quick test) but gave me antibiotics on the spot and said my self diagnosis was pretty good. He also indicated that there are things that can interfere with the quick test that I may have done in trying to self treat before going to the doctor originally (throat spray or some such, it’s been a long time). From this I learned doctors are not perfect and the value of a second opinion.

Sometime later (but before the second tonsillectomy) I had to go in for yet another infection. They did the quick test and it came back negative. The ER doctor prescribed antibiotics anyway because:

1. A visual inspection showed it obviously to be an infection.
2. There are bacteria that are just as bad or worse than strep that wouldn’t show in a quick strep test.
3. Even if it was viral, that often creates an opportunity for bacteria to take hold that they wouldn’t normally have in an otherwise healthy person, and antibiotics can help stave that off.

In conclusion, I understand that antibiotics are not a universal cure all and can’t help a range of problems. However, you live with your body 24/7, and the doctor doesn’t (especially not a health center or ER doctor you don’t see regularly). You may not have a medical degree, but you know what is normal and abnormal to a large extent with yourself. If you go to a doctor and think the diagnosis is off, don’t be afraid to push back (politely, of course) and/or seek a second opinion. You might be wrong ultimately, but you might inspire the busy doctor to look a little deeper than he otherwise would have and come to a different conclusion with additional facts.