Why I Like Quizzing
June 7, 2026 · 3 min read
A short note on guesses, intuition, and the joy of almost knowing something.
Sometimes I sign up for things in the moment but then wonder if I should even go when the date approaches.
That happened recently with the 2026 World Quizzing Championship in Singapore. Two days before the event, I was added to a WhatsApp group and suddenly had to decide whether I was actually going. I had not brushed up on anything. The last time I went for a quiz was in late 2020. So a part of me wondered if there was any point.
In the process, I started thinking about why I liked quizzing in the first place.
There is a very specific feeling I get from quizzing that I don't get from much else.
When I think back to past quizzes, I remember the guesses that turned out to be correct more than the answers I knew immediately. There is this small rush when a guess somehow turns out to be right. In the process of guessing, a tiny part of my brain had made a connection before I could fully explain it. A name sounded familiar. A word in the question pointed in a direction. A random thing I had read years ago suddenly became useful. Those moments are hard to describe, but they feel very satisfying.
I also like the feeling of being close, even when I am wrong. Sometimes I get stuck between two answers and I can feel myself trying to reason through the clues. Even when I don't get it right, there is still something fun about the chase even with the disappointment.
Quizzing also builds intuition.
When I have no clear idea what the correct answer is, my job becomes coming up with the most educated guess I can. Over time, it has taught me to notice small clues. I start paying attention to the way a question is worded, not just what it is asking. A single word can change the direction of my thinking.
That instinct is not always right, but over time I think it makes me a little better at trusting half-formed connections in quizzing and many other things in life.
I am glad I went. It reminded me that I still enjoy the strange little chase. The feeling of almost knowing something. The feeling of making a guess. The feeling of being surprised when some forgotten corner of your brain turns out to be useful.
Here are some questions that I enjoyed answering from this weekend's quiz.
"Roberto Linguanotto (1943 - 2024) is credited - together with Alba di Pillo - with inventing which popular dish? It is unclear if his death was due to an overdose of egg yolk, sugar, cocoa powder, biscuits or Mascarpone cheese."
Answer
Tiramisu
My thought process
I could not think of any other dish with some of the ingredients mentioned. But not having coffee as an ingredient was a reason to go against 'Tiramisu'. Glad I stuck to my gut and got it right.
"Younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun, Susanoo is the storm god in the mythology of which country?"
Answer
Japan
My thought process
The names "Amaterasu" and "Susanoo" sounded Japanese, so went with it. I did not know if Japanese mythology existed or at least popular compared to nordic, egyptian etc. So was pretty happy when I got it right.
Answer
Java
My thought process
I wrote Java first, then tried to visualize the world map in my head and thought it has to be Sumatra. Big miss.