The Philosophy Club held its first Brain Bowl Tuesday, November 10, in the Mezz, taking on challenger PRIDE.
The Brain Bowl is a cross disciplinary trivia competition, featuring questions from subjects such as math, science, fine arts, politics and, of course, philosophy.
Each round began with a toss-up question, to which either team could buzz in an answer. Whichever team correctly answered this first question was then given first crack at three bonus questions. If the team missed a bonus question, the other team was given a chance to answer. Additional points were awarded for answering the toss-up question before a certain point was reached.
The Philosophy Club demonstrated their knowledge early on, taking the lead from the first question, and ending the first half ahead. However, they were out performed by PRIDE in second half, and despite a comeback toward the end of the night, they could not clinch victory.
The match ended with a 350-275 PRIDE victory, and Philosophy Club was forced to turn over its coveted brain in a jar to their ecstatic opponent.
The Brain Bowl was hosted by Sean Walsh, assistant professor of political science, and Philosophy Club adviser.
Arielle Johnson, philosophy club co-chair, acted as moderator and score keeper before substituting in for the Philosophy Club team in the second half.
Austin Reid served as captain of PRIDE’s team, with Nick Bochenek heading the team for Philosophy Club.
Despite halving a deeper bench than challenger Pride, Philosophy Club’s team did not encompass enough disciplines to be effective.
Still, in face of the defeat, the group said they were proud to have held a successful first event.
Philosophy Club is looking to expand the Brain Bowl in the future to include multiple organizations who will compete in either a tournament or round-robin format.
Another Brain Bowl is planned for late next semester, and PRIDE will need to defend their championship title.
