Ken Jennings

Kenneth Wayne " Ken " Jennings III (* May 23, 1974 in Edmonds, Washington) is an American professional quiz, which is considered as the most famous (though not necessarily the best ) Quiz players in the world. In 2004 he was in the U.S. to stardom when he was 74- times spectacular wins in a row in the game show Jeopardy. However, a multi-year finals he lost to Brad Rutter, who thereby was able to record a higher total profit than Jennings Jeopardy.

Through several appearances at other U.S. game shows Jennings in turn holds the record for the highest earned on TV of Gross Margin ( $ 3,623,414.29 ) in front of his rivals (as of 2010 in front of the Watson- match). Through clever self-marketing (books, TV appearances, etc.), he managed to maintain its status as a symbol of American Quizzens despite his defeat.

Mid-February 2011, he joined Jeopardy together with said Brad Rutter against the artificial intelligence program Watson of IBM; Watson won this competition significantly.

Life

Ken Jennings grew from 1981 to 1992 in Seoul and 1992 to 1996 in Singapore, where his father worked at different companies. He holds a degree in computer science and English from Brigham Young University ( BYU). As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints, he spent 1993 to 1995 a two-year missionary stay in Madrid.

During his participation in Jeopardy, he was employed as a software engineer at a company in Salt Lake City. He now lives with his wife and two children near Seattle.

Jeopardy Participation

Even before his participation in Jeopardy Jennings was an avid quiz players and spectators. The first show with him was broadcast on 2 June 2004 in American television. He won the following 73 items, but it only nine times in the Final question is no safe lead - that is, with clever use was his victory already - had. On 30 November 2004 ended his winning streak. He answered incorrectly during the broadcast two Daily Doubles and lost over $ 10,000, so that for the tenth time he had no comfortable lead over the final round. The final question was answered Jennings, unlike his female opponent wrong and retired. During its winning streak, the ratings for Jeopardy were higher by 22%.

After Jeopardy

Jennings has written three books. The first book, Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs, published in 2006 and describes his experiences on Jeopardy. His second book, Ken Jennings 's Trivia Almanac: 8,888 Questions in 365 Days, from 2008, is a compilation of general knowledge questions. His third book Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography wonks appeared 2011 In 2012, the book appeared Greater Goal: . Connecting Purpose and Performance. In addition, the book Because I Said So is: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, and Warnings Every generation passport Down to Its Kids appear, which is specifically aimed at children.

He is a frequent guest on American game shows, including as an expert in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? or as a candidate in 1 vs. Are You Smarter Than 100 and a 5th grader?

Writings

  • Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs. Villard Books, New York, 2006, ISBN 1-4000-6445-7.
  • Ken Jennings 's Trivia Almanac: 8,888 Questions in 365 Days. Villard Books, New York, 2008, ISBN 0-345-49997-2.
  • Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography wonks. Scribner, New York, 2011, ISBN 978-1-43916-717-5.
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