Guesstimania has much in common with those famous consulting interview questions: How many golf balls can you fit in a 747? How many light bulbs are there in the city of Chicago?
In this installment of Guesstimania, you have the option of explaining how you came to each estimate. It might just save your bacon – and it could serve as an intriguing social experiment.
ENTRIES SUBMITTED: 33
Spoiler
- gamawire
- Vanya
- MarkBarrett
- dnbguy
- econgator
- geolawyerman
- TheyCallMeMrKid
- whatisbishkek
- TerrHeel
- Caboom
- cougarslav
- nightreign
- Woof
- jjwaymee
- mitchparov
- brainpower
- tjconn728
- clprez
- Bob78164
- BobF
- alietr
- lieph82
- FireAntsDefense
- jeffwolfe
- RandyG
- Bamaman
- ihavejeoprosy
- jepkid97
- dougforte
- Sherm
- Lumosityfan
- Rackme32
- barandall800 (late entry)
1. The game will consist of seven questions where you have to take your best guess as to the correct number. As with other installments, degree of closeness will be judged by simple subtraction.
2. For each question, the worst guesses will fall in the Strike Zone, and all players – except for the two who are saved by the consultant – will receive a strike. If a player receives two strikes, he is eliminated from the game.
3. Saved by the Consultant: On every question, you can explain how you arrived at your estimate. I'll take the explanations from each player in the Strike Zone and send them to a friend who works as a consultant. He will pick the best two explanations, and these two players will be spared of a strike.
4. The players who survive all seven questions will then be ranked according to a formula. There will be no follow-up questions.
5. As usual, you are not allowed to use any research material other than the knowledge in your head. Please try to avoid situations where you might learn about a question.
6. The deadline for submitting your answers by Sunday, September 7, 2014, at 11:59 PM EDT. Please submit your answers here; when you're done, PM me with your response to question #1 so I can verify it's you. Do not post any answers in this thread. You must submit all your answers at once, and no changes or corrections will be allowed.
7. Feel free to post any questions you have in this thread unless you believe a question will give away too much information. In that case, you can send me the question in a private message.
The size of the Strike Zone
Spoiler
The Strike Zone will be calculated so that at the end of the game, there will be exactly 10 unused strikes. For example, if we get 40 players, that's a total of 80 strikes. Each question, therefore, will need 10 strikes plus two Saved, so 12 players will fall into the Strike Zone on each question. (Note that a larger percentage of players will fall into the Strike Zone as contestants are eliminated.)
Spoiler
At the end of the game, between 5 and 10 contestants will remain. Each will receive points as follows:
Points for each question will be given on a sliding scale compared with the other remaining players: closest receives 10, next-closest receives 9, etc. (N.B. these points will remain the same regardless of the number of players still alive)
A bonus of 7 points will be given to any player who has not received a strike, and to any player who is the closest overall on a question (including eliminated players).
Any ties will be broken by number of 10s, then number of 9s, etc., with order of submission serving as the final tiebreaker.
Points for each question will be given on a sliding scale compared with the other remaining players: closest receives 10, next-closest receives 9, etc. (N.B. these points will remain the same regardless of the number of players still alive)
A bonus of 7 points will be given to any player who has not received a strike, and to any player who is the closest overall on a question (including eliminated players).
Any ties will be broken by number of 10s, then number of 9s, etc., with order of submission serving as the final tiebreaker.
Spoiler
Question: How many residents of New York City have last names beginning with "Z"?
Around 8 million people live in New York City. Let's assume the frequency of "Z" is one out of 400. That makes my guess 8,000,000 / 400 = 20,000.
Around 8 million people live in New York City. Let's assume the frequency of "Z" is one out of 400. That makes my guess 8,000,000 / 400 = 20,000.
