OK, did anyone notice that Arnav spelled "Defended" and probably heard it that way, instead of "Defendant"? I'm shocked that this was not protested -- he obviously just heard the word incorrectly, and then spelled "Defended" correctly.
shareIf Arnay heard the word wrong, he should have asked the judges to repeat the word. The fact that he did not ask the judges to repeat the word, is his problem. It's too late now. That is not to say I feel bad for him. If I were one of the judges and Arnay and his parents went to talk to the judges about it, I would not give him a do over for that word because he should have asked to repeat the word.
shareI get what you're saying. I'm just surprised that no one seemed to notice he actually spelled "defended," and he spelled it correctly. Unless it was addressed off camera, this seemed to completely go over everyone's head. He heard the word incorrectly, he didn't spell it incorrectly! Had he heard it correctly, I am sure he would have been able to spell it.
Really just a comment on how surprising it is that this was not addressed. He looked utterly shocked when he was told "defended" was not correct, as well he should have -- if he actually thought the word was "defended." It probably blew his mind and made him question everything about the universe. :)
I definitely noticed that - and it appeared that his parents immediately realized that he misheard that word. I was glad to see that they didn't go to the judges for some type of reversal. If they had, I'm sure it would have aired on the show.
shareIt does kind of suck, though! He legitimately misheard the word! He definitely knows how to spell "defendant"!
shareMy ear also heard "defended", though my eye had an advantage Arnav didn't, so I saw "defendant". Arnav was probably not self-secure enough to bring it up later to the judges, which is a pity since the event is on video and can be checked.
I also believe the pronunciation of the word "sycophant" threw off the child who had that word - I'm used to hearing it as "SIE-cophant", and it was pronounced "SEH-cophant".
The "defended" thing really was crazy. That is definitely what he heard. It's really surprising there was no protest, at least not one we saw on camera. No one seemed to acknowledge this very obvious situation. The kid knows how to spell both "defended" and "defendant." Crazy.
Also, just overall, this was a pretty easy work to use in a genius competition.
I agree that it was an easy word - whether it was defendant or defended. Some of those words were ridiculously easy - and some I had never heard of!
share