Take a Side

**Take a Side**, also known as *Power of Persuasion* in the 2012 Special, is a challenge of social intelligence on *Canada's Smartest Person*.

## Description

*Retrieved from CBC.ca*

The competitors are arranged in a debate-style setting. They are randomly assigned a Canadian city. In a debate format, they need to present a compelling case as to why their city should be named the new capital of Canada, while being judged on their performance.

Political debates are extremely demanding social intelligence tests. Debaters must be able to connect with their audience and convey clear and credible messages. At the same time there is a linguistic twist to this challenge, as competitors must summon the right words under pressure.

## 2012 Special

Power of Persuasion was the sole challenge of social intelligence and the seventh challenge overall. Gerry Dee explained the instructions to the contestants. The contestant in 1st place would earn 10 overall points, the contestant in 2nd place would earn 6, the contestant in 3rd place would earn 4, and the contestant in last place would earn 0. Arlene Dickinson served as the guest judge for this challenge. Gerry also explained to the viewers how they could participate in the challenge, by predicting Arlene's rankings, on the Canada's Smartest Person app.

In the first portion of the challenge, the contestants had 30 seconds each to explain why they believe that they are Canada's Smartest Person. Marshall Carroll was the first contestant up and argued that he was Canada's Smartest Person because he is all-rounded in terms of the six intelligences, though he did so in a poetic and catchy manner. Peter Dyakowski was the second contestant up and argued that he was Canada's Smartest Person because he is part of Mensa, but more importantly, he is able to make immediate decisions and have a team depend on him. Laura Suen was the third contestant up and argued that she was Canada's Smartest Person because she has natural visual intelligence and trained herself to be more logically intelligent too, with the fact that she's an atomic physicist who builds lasers for CERN being a testament to the latter claim. Greg Frankson was the last contestant up and argued that he was Canada's Smartest Person because he is able to apply everything that he has learned since his childhood in real time and that he can be comfortable in any environment that he is put into.

In the second portion of the challenge, Arlene asked the contestants, "What is the greatest invention in the history of all time?" During the debate, Greg answered that it is language, but before he could justify his answer, Arlene questioned language's classification as an invention. Peter rebutted that language is not an invention and that animals have languages, but that the telegraph is the greatest invention ever since it has paved the way for more modern forms of communication. Laura disagreed and stated that that honour goes to the Internet, but was cut off by Peter and Greg before she could explain why. Arlene then cut everyone off, informed Marshall that he hasn't weighed in yet, and gave him some time to answer her question. He responded that it is the periodic table since it is so cheap yet categorizes everything found in nature. Peter rebutted that he doesn't use the periodic table in his everyday life and tried to state that the telegraph spawned off certain modes of communication that he does use in his everyday life, but Arlene cut him off before he could finish by asking him if he literally uses the telegraph in his day-to-day life. Laura and Greg concluded the debate by saying that the Internet has revolutionized society and by claiming that humans invented language, respectively.

In the final portion of the challenge, the contestants had 15 seconds each to make closing statements. Greg was the first contestant up and said, "Arlene, I have spent a lot of time and a lot of effort and a lot of energy becoming someone who is a well-rounded individual–who is able to operate in many different areas and many different ways: musically, poetically, logically. I still strongly stand in my belief that I am Canada's Smartest Person." Laura was the second contestant up and said, "Okay, so I might not be able to tackle you very well or might not be able to rhyme you to death with every last breath, but um–I–I am Canada's Smartest Person because I am very, very strong in multiple intelligences a–and I deal very, very well with people and I'm able to have a good time while I do so." Peter was the third contestant up and said, "I can sit around in a lab all day and come up with amazing things just like everybody else, but on the football field, I can make split-second decisions. So, I can do all that and then I can also act quickly and make decisive and meaningful choices that impact other people and, as far as everything else, I love Scrabble, Tetris–you name it, I got it." As Peter said "amazing things", Gerry interrupted him to remind him to look at Arlene instead of at him. Marshall was the last contestant up and said, "I have a PhD in theoretical quantum chemistry, but I left research to use multiple intelligences to teach high school students. Aside from marrying my wife, it's the smartest move I ever did."

After Gerry prompted viewers to predict Arlene's rankings on the Canada's Smartest Person app, Arlene commented on the contestants' performances. Finally, Arlene ranked Marshall in 1st place, Greg in 2nd place, Peter in 3rd place, and Laura in last place. Therefore, Marshall was awarded 10 overall points for finishing in 1st place, Greg was awarded 6 for finishing in 2nd place, Peter was awarded 4 for finishing in 3rd place, and Laura was not awarded any for finishing in last place.

### Summary of Results

 **1st** | **Marshall Carroll** | 1st
 **2nd** | **Greg Frankson** | 2nd
 **3rd** | **Peter Dyakowski** | 3rd
 **4th** | **Laura Suen** | 4th
 Maximum Possible

## References

1. ↑ https://www.cbc.ca/smartestperson/blog/testing-intelligences-episode-9
2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8ofUJ\_9e18&t=4384s