Brainiac (book)
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Brainiac is a non-fiction narrative by Ken Jennings published in 2006 (ISBN 1-4000-6445-7).
The book is subtitled Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs. Ken Jennings uses his record-setting 75-game run on the syndicated quiz show Jeopardy! as a jumping-off point to look at the phenomenon of trivia and quiz games in general. The book emphasizes the centuries-long history of trivia and the hardcore subcultures obsessed with the game today. Individual chapters focus on trivia fora like TV quiz shows, the Trivial Pursuit board game fad, pub quiz and NTN Buzztime, and the annual radio contest in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, that bills itself as "The World's Largest Trivia Contest." Quiz questions are interwoven into each chapter. The author also considers philosophical questions about trivia: its aesthetics, its utility, the reasons for its popularity, and its effects on American culture and society.
