System problems

[Linda]

Les, please let me put you out of your misery, yelnats is Stanley in reverse!! 

I am hardly ever at the top of the scoreboard but then again I only play to try and get as many common words as possible.  I don't use any sort of online help, I don't ponder for ages, I don't beat myself up over ridiculously easy missed words (okay, sometimes I give myself a small slap when that happens!) and I don't care who has a higher score than me or which players are always at the top of the board with perfect scores -  I find a laid back attitude preserves sanity! 

[pat]

What she said.

Les, there has been lots of discussion over the years about the players at the top of the scoreboards. I don't think anyone doubts that they use methods that are, shall we say, not consistent with how most people play although none of them has ever admitted it and no one is ever likely to. It's obviously how they prefer to play the game - there's nothing to say that you can't keep your own database of words, updating it every time Alan makes additions to the words list.

Don't worry about other players' scores; just play your own game and enjoy it. I think that's what most of us do.

[Hobbit]

Well said Linda & Pat I concur!  Penny

[Les303]

Thanks Linda , I never was very good with anagrams.
(tried to add a banana pic but didn't work.)

I certainly don't stress about the high scorers etc,, (each to their own).
While i was trying to respond to Yelnat's post with a bit of humour , it occurred to me that i have seen several posts in the past where the author has made subtle innuendos to pussy foot around the subject so i thought why not just ask the direct question.
As Pat says , it is most unlikely that anyone will respond so i will continue to play the game in the same laid back manner that i always have & will not raise the "controversial" perfect scorers topic again.

[TRex]

Les, there has been lots of discussion over the years about the players at the top of the scoreboards. I don't think anyone doubts that they use methods that are, shall we say, not consistent with how most people play although none of them has ever admitted it and no one is ever likely to.

Or, there are a number of people with 'photographic memory'!

[Les303]

OK , I ADMIT IT , I DO HAVE A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY.
I'm just terribly modest about it & did not want to share it with the forum community as it might have been considered to be bragging.

So to answer your question ...wait , what was it again ? ..i seem to have forgotten.

[pat]

Or, there are a number of people with 'photographic memory'!

Is that a serious suggestion, TRex?

[TRex]

Is that a serious suggestion, TRex?

Was it serious in the sense of being an actual possibility? Sure. What is more properly labelled 'eidetic memory' does exist and might explain how a player could consistently get all possible words with no errors. But that doesn't mean I think it a probable explanation.

[pat]

I think the chances of it being possible are less than my chances of winning the lottery (which I don't even do). 

A couple of quotes from an article:

The popular culture concept of "photographic memory," where someone can briefly look at a page of text and then recite it perfectly from memory indefinitely, is not the same as eidetic memory and has never been demonstrated to exist.

Eidetic memory has been found in 2 to 10 percent of children aged 6 to 12 and is virtually nonexistent in adults.

[ensiform]

It's Stanley backward.

[yelnats]

Glad you didn't say it's backward Stanley!

[Les303]

ananab

[ensiform]

As I have noted before on this topic, even having a flawless eidetic memory would not explain the ability to know exactly which words (and which plural exceptions) are accepted on an ever-changing list, and entering them consistently with 100% accuracy.  There is simply no way to do this without knowing the approved answer list in advance.

But if people want to play that way, it doesn't bother me any.

[anona]

I find the perfect scorers useful in helping me to cheat a bit: their numbers of gold stars show whether there are any rare 9-letter words to be found. So thank you!

[Les303]

Me too ... It's the only way that i know when there is a second or third big word to be found as the latter words are  usually " rare. "

I actually took an eidetic memory test on line this arv & scored a massive 10%.
I can't imagine that anybody out there could possibly beat that incredible score but if you would like to have a go ,then here's the link.

http://www.open.edu/openlearn/body-mind/psychology/take-the-photographic-memory-test