Tuesday, January 08, 2008

And your specialist subject is…

Over Christmas, we caught a couple of episodes of Celebrity Mastermind. Aside from thinking that the questions were easier than those usually asked, it set me pondering about the specialist subject. The assembled celebrities’ subjects included Jamaican reggae music, bee keeping, Monty Python, Daphne du Maurier, the Sex Pistols, Captain Beefheart, and Lord Elgin and his Marbles (which is sounds like another punk band!).

My thoughts turned to what would my specialist subject be and the answer is, I don’t have one. This worried me. If I was going on the show (unlikely, but I do worry about these things –whenever I see ski jumping on television, I worry that I wouldn’t be able to do it), I suppose I could pick a topic and revise for it in preparation. But what would it be?

I honestly don’t know a lot about any one thing. I don’t mean I’m completely ignorant. I know a little bit about lots of things, but I don’t have a specialist subject.

So, dear readers, what would you specialist subject be?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've thought about this before too. If you don't have a 'thing' that you're really anally and obsessively into, then I think you have to pick a subject which makes you look interesting/intelligent/a bit of an eccentric character and is finite, so you only have to learn so much and, of course then they are limited on what they can ask you questions on (my competitive streak coming out there).

Something like muppet movies, Sex and the city season 4, airport codes or International dialling codes.

For you I think something like "Cecila Birtwell - her life and times and her designs for top shop" would be perfect!

Anonymous said...

I know I saw a version of that & Kelly from Liberty X was on there, her specialist subject being pop music from the 80's onwards or something like that. She was absolutely awful!!!

Think mine would be either horses, music from the 60's onwards or fashion. Not sure I know enough about any of them that makes them suitable Mastermind subjects though.

Roses said...

Yeah, well I think that's why I'm struggling at the moment. I don't have a specialism in anything. I have loads of things I'm interested in, but none I'd like to spend more in-depth time with. I think I'm just shallow.

SandDancer said...

NM - it definitely needs to be a limited topic. I'm liking the Celia Birtwell suggestion but I think I would enjoy the research for the Muppet Movies.

GND - I think pop music and fashion are too big - you need to narrow it down to one band or record label or one designer I think. Horses might work though.

Roses - I don't have specalism either - optimistically I could say that makes me a Renaissance (Wo)man but the phrase 'jack of all trades, master of none' springs to mind more readily.