Different schools of thought have emerged.
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Different schools of thought have emerged on how best to deal with buzzer timing.
For these players, there is a sacred text:Secrets of the Buzzer, by Fritz Holznagel.
Holznagel first competed onJeopardy!in 1994.
That edge he went about sharpening?
Buzzer reaction time.Jeopardy!, he says, is a unique beast in the trivia world.
He wondered: Could he hack it?
At Trivia Nationals, Holznagel has become something of a celebrity.
Before Holzhauers winning streak, Holznagels book had been something less than a bestseller.
I published it in 2015 and kind of forgot about it, he says.
I put it on Amazon and it sold 70 or 80 copies over the next few years.
Carlos speed is so-so: about 313 milliseconds.
Any particular blend, like Sumatran, or … ?
A semicircle ofJeopardy!hopefuls surrounds Holznagel and Carlo, and they want specifics.
What about freeze-dried coffee?
Can you do crack?
(He does not recommend them.)
You said the buzzer is our friend, one woman calls out, sounding betrayed.
The buzzer is sexist.
I think people are afraid of the buzzer, she says.
Its a common thing we hear: This is busted.
They psych themselves out.
Toward the end, Holznagels guinea pig reapproaches the buzzer.
The room launches into a round of applause.
Reprinted by permission of Twelve/Hachette Book Group, New York, NY.
