The 'testing' bit stupidity (spoilers)

How can Powers be so stupid?

I mean, when they had that setup with the audience, and someone asked about the color of the tie, then all he had to do is turn around a bit, in some innocent, inconspicious way - and RUIN the question that way. And then pretend to realize his mistake - "oops, what did I do?".

I mean, what did he have to lose? The audience would otherwise have found out about the setup anyway!

In my opinion, it was a really stupid thing to begin with, because "perfect memory" is too much of a stretch. Did Hubbard really do it this way? Was he really as stupid as Powers in the movie?

Why not just claim that she has a very GOOD memory now, and so on. That way the page-question would have easy to understand to have been invalid, and even the tie-question could have been ruined easily. OR the paid 'assistants' in the audience could have mouthed the word "red" to her, and so on.

Besides, women pay so much attention to clothes, especially men's, who they are in close contact with (partners of ANY kind), that it's a virtual impossibility that she wouldn't have remembered the color of his tie.

The whole thing was just so stupid, there's no way any intelligent human being would ever have ended up in such a situation.

Then again, it of course served them right for trying to deceive the audience, but ethical issues aside, it was just such a _STUPID_ scene that there was no plausibility, and any attempt at suspension of disbelief were completely obliterated.