The secret to winning Millionaire? Neuroscience, of course

Interesting piece over at Seed magazine. A Boston University researcher decided to try out for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and used his training in learning, memory, and decision-making to win $500,000.

Ogi Ogas describes his thought process for each question he got, and how he got the answer that he chose for each question. How he would use bits and pieces of knowledge and what he knew was right about an answer to put together the pieces that would give him the final answer, like a memory detective. There's also a bit of intuition involved, as with the question of the first produce that Sears sold in its catalog. Ogas had no idea what the answer was, but for some reason, immediately, "watches" came into his mind. Was it some sort of information that he had read quickly once and had been stored in his memory bank? I wonder if intuition isn't pure intuition at all, but a decision we come to from what we've learned in the past and stored. I'm not sure if this explains why I can't remember to pay certain bills every single month but I remember the Bionic Woman's telephone number (555-2368), but it's fascinating.

Of course, if various aspects of memory and learning are the keys to winning Millionaire, I guess luck and a lack of greed is the secret to winning Deal Or No Deal.