Do Not Ask the Audience
In the popular a television game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire contestants are allowed three lifelines: "Ask the Audience" and "Jump The Question," which can only be used twice.
If unable to think of an answer, there are only four times a contestant should ever Ask the Audience:
- when it's a topic most people should know. For example, I do not follow sports, so if the question is something such as, "What is the team mascot for the Denver Broncos?" it is likely that a majority of the audience would know. But if the question is "Leporiphobia is the fear of what fictional cartoon character?" it is more than likely that the majority of the audience will not know the correct answer [Bugs Bunny].
- When one already used up two "Jump the Question" options.
- When your mind goes blank and you need the assurance of an audience to confirm what should be an obvious answer.
- On the last question for the million dollars. Even if you never used any lifelines, you cannot jump this question.
Of course, unless the audience is almost 100% on the answer, one should certainly not just go with the majority opinion. On the Bugs Bunny question, 45% of the audience guessed wrong, only about 25% got the right answer and the contestant, picking the majority audience's answer, went home with nothing.
I should also mention that even if almost 90% of the audience believe they know the answer they can still be egregiously, dangerously, perilously wrong. For example, ask most people if Islam is a religion and the majority will answer incorrectly and not know that Islam is a military cult bent on world conquest; see my article Why Many Americans Mistake Islam for a Religion.
