The Two Generals Problem

After last week's barnstorming series opener (specially selected from the list of potential episodes for maximum barnstoming-ness), Aberdeen and Birmingham had a lot to live up to.

We'd also get another chance to judge Amol Rajan's elocution, charm and general aura; would our memories of Paxman's question cards already feel like an outdated anachronism as we watch Rajan stare directly into a little screen on his desk (no, the screen remains weird), and would they explain where the heck the crevasse in the middle of the set goes (also, no).

Anyway, Aberdeen were making their first appearance on the show in ten years, despite the fact I could have sworn I'd reviewed multiple episodes with them in over the past five series. RGU were on last year, and they're from Aberdeen too, but that's not (as alumni of both would be wont to say) the same. They've not made it past the second round since Paxman's first series in 1995 - perhaps they'll use Rajan's debut as a similar springboard.

Remarkably, Birmingham vs Aberdeen was the first match of that series, twenty-eight years ago. The Scots won 205-170 on their way to the semis, while Birmingham would make it through to the quarters, as high-scoring losers. They lost on a tiebreak to New College, Oxford, while Aberdeen were beaten by Trinity, Cam, also on a tiebreak. Is that interesting? I feel like it is, in the way that looking at statistics sometimes can be. Just me?

Okay, well look at Roger Federer's Grand Slam Performance Timeline and tell me that it's not beautiful.

But that's enough horsing around.

If you want to watch the episode before reading the review you can do so here (courtesy of CosmicPumpkin, our saviour in a Dave Garda-less world).

Let's get on with things; here's your first starter for ten...

The Scots get us up and running through Broomfield, who correctly identifies Scott Joplin as the King of Ragtime. His most famous song The Entertainer was a preset on the keyboards in my school music room, which means consequently that it has been stuck in my head for more than a decade.

They take a full set on human vertebrae, the backbone of a good UC question set, before Rogers gets Birmingham involved with Andrew Marvell. Bonuses on Japanese theatre follow, for each of which they guess kibuki, getting it right at the third attempt.

Confidence flying high from his opening buzz, Broomfield comes in early on the next starter, but gets it wrong - giving the Byzantine Generals Problem instead of the Two Generals problem, which Bennett steals for the Brummies. Rajan explains that the Byzantine Generals problem is related, but its different so he can't award the points. I was going to try and explain the difference between the two problems, but the Wikipedia page for the Byzantine version hasn't loaded properly so I'd be communicating it to you via an unreliable link.

I was also going to say that Rogers, the Birmingham skipper, had got away with one here because he's studying History of Warfare (so should surely have been the first to buzz). But it turns out that it doesn't really have anything to do with armies at all, so I'm glad I didn't go down that route. It also turns out that it's an unsolvable problem, which is pretty fun.

The first picture round, on the Brothers Grimm, goes to Aberdeen, who take the lead despite mixing up Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel. A mistake from Eisler allows Bennett to steal the advantage back for the Midlanders, but he makes up for it with the Mitford sisters next time out. This match has been a real tug-of-war so far, with neither side able to get a foothold.

Two in a row from Birmingham put them in front - one of these is on superconductors, a field in which there has been some potentially exciting news over the past few days. Predictably, Aberdeen don't let them get too far ahead, and Eisler reels them in with orientalism. Osbourne cheeses her face off when she gets Taylor Swift moments into the music starter, though not quite as quickly as my girlfriend's flatmate.

Another pair from the Brummies edge them clear, but this is the final time that they will lead, as Aberdeen put the hammer down for the last five minutes, crushing their opponents 80-0 to close out the game. Osbourne defers to her teammates a bit too much in this period, nominating them on a lot of the bonuses, but they got the job done so it doesn't matter that much in the end.

Aberdeen 190 - 125 Birmingham

Not quite as barnstorming as last week, but a good ep nonetheless. With Rajan's increased pace of delivery there's no chance that Birmingham will be back with that score, but they can leave with their heads held high. Meanwhile Aberdeen can still dream of repeating their exploits of 1995. See you next time for Birkbeck vs Oxford Brookes.

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