Today marks the 50th anniversary of BBC quiz show University Challenge.
The very first episode of the show aired on this day (September 21) in 1962.
Host Jeremy Paxman said on BBC Radio 4’s Today that he believed the level of knowledge has risen since the show started 50 years ago.
When asked if he thought today’s students were “dumber” he replied: “It’s clearly not true, we’ve deliberately made questions more difficult. That’s because the level of knowledge has gone up.
“They know incredible things about science and computing, and all sorts of cultural things. The last person that knew everything died in the 18th century, it’s impossible to know everything.
“As you get older, you do find that knowledge sticks to you. You do [know more] when you’re 50 or 60 than when you’re 20, but the speed of retrieval is much slower.
“It’s one of the best-performing shows on the channel, I hope it will go on for a long time. It reassures tax payers that their money is being well spent when they see these clever people at university.
“The media stereotype of young people is absolute rubbish. They know amazing things and they care about interesting things. I hope it will go on for a long time yet.”
Source: Digital Spy
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