1001-2000 most common maxes, and so on

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Paul Erdunast
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1001-2000 most common maxes, and so on

Post by Paul Erdunast »

I'm currently in the middle of learning the top 1,000 most common maxes, but I realise that when I finish in about a month or so, I will have a problem: I'd like to learn most efficiently, meaning that I'd need to next learn the maxes from 1001-2000, but they are not on apterous like
this list is.

Is the data easy to pull, and if so would anyone be kind enough to give a list of the maxes from 1001-2000? And so on for 2001-3000? If so I would hugely appreciate it!

(mods: I wasn't sure whether this was relevant countdown in general or apterous only so I put it here - feel free to move it to apterous if that's the more appropriate place)
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Graeme Cole
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Re: 1001-2000 most common maxes, and so on

Post by Graeme Cole »

Paul Erdunast wrote:I'm currently in the middle of learning the top 1,000 most common maxes, but I realise that when I finish in about a month or so, I will have a problem: I'd like to learn most efficiently, meaning that I'd need to next learn the maxes from 1001-2000, but they are not on apterous like
this list is.

Is the data easy to pull, and if so would anyone be kind enough to give a list of the maxes from 1001-2000? And so on for 2001-3000? If so I would hugely appreciate it!

(mods: I wasn't sure whether this was relevant countdown in general or apterous only so I put it here - feel free to move it to apterous if that's the more appropriate place)
Changing the show=1000 to show=2000 in the URL still only gives the top 1000, so it looks like only the top 1000 words are generated, or at least the number of words you can request is capped at 1000.

Even so, it should be said that learning words from an enormous list like that is probably not going to help as much as you might expect. The further down the list of frequently occurring maxes you go, the less likely it is that knowing those words will help you in any particular game. Additionally, and more importantly, knowing the word is only part of the game - you also have to spot it, and that ability is best improved by practice. For example, I know the word DINOSAUR, but it doesn't stop me missing it nearly every time it comes up.
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Jon O'Neill
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Re: 1001-2000 most common maxes, and so on

Post by Jon O'Neill »

I know this has been done to death before, but I'd like to opine that learning the word DINOSAUR as part of a wordlist will probably increase your chances of spotting it in a round of Countdown.
JackHurst
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Re: 1001-2000 most common maxes, and so on

Post by JackHurst »

Topics like this are neither directly countdown or apterous, and I think they'd belong best in a new sub forum, which is intended to be a place for users to discuss ways of getting good at countdown/apterous.

If you read this Charlie, whaddya think?
Ryan Taylor
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Re: 1001-2000 most common maxes, and so on

Post by Ryan Taylor »

Jon O'Neill wrote:I know this has been done to death before, but I'd like to opine that learning the word DINOSAUR as part of a wordlist will probably increase your chances of spotting it in a round of Countdown.
Oooo opine, fancy.
Paul Erdunast
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Re: 1001-2000 most common maxes, and so on

Post by Paul Erdunast »

I agree that just learning a list of words is a rubbish way of learning words. I'm using zyzzyva's cardbox system to generate scrambled versions of the words so that I learn how to unscramble them. They come up each day if I get them wrong, so it's a pretty effective way of learning them - I've already noticed the difference in my countdown performance this way, so I feel pretty good about it.

I suppose I was wondering if there was a back-end database which tracks all words found and the number of times they've come up (surely there must be) where it wouldn't be too hard to find numbers 1001-2000. Of course if it would be really difficult then don't worry about it and I'll find another way :)

I tend to always miss EROTICA even though I knew the word, but having it come up 20 times in a row makes me learn how to spot it - even if I first have to make a personal falseagram (^coatier) to link it in my mind until I can spot it on its own quickly.
David Barnard
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Re: 1001-2000 most common maxes, and so on

Post by David Barnard »

Let me be honest here without trying to be harsh, I have a feeling that you may be overthinking all of this, as Graeme said the lower down the list you go the less likely a word is to come up so the top 1000 really is all you really need to know (at least one of these words comes up as a max each game). The thing I tell people to do who ask me how to improve is to scramble up the words in a book and work through them trying to unscramble every word on the page before moving on. Bullet rounds help too. Good luck!
David Barnard
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Re: 1001-2000 most common maxes, and so on

Post by David Barnard »

Although if you really do want a list of semi obscure lists I can aptomail you the list I'm working on and an anagram form of them to test yourself on but I'm trying to learn obscurities so they'll be pretty tough but it's there if you want it
Anthony Endsor
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Re: 1001-2000 most common maxes, and so on

Post by Anthony Endsor »

I would have thought the best way to learn would be to practice at Apterous.
That way you actually see what words come up and if you miss them you can learn from your mistakes.
If you play often enough the most common words will come out eventually, and you'll surely one day get to the point where you don't miss any common words and you get to know a load of more obscure words as well.
I do agree with learning some stems and maxes, but if that's all you do all day you'll soon get completely bored out of your mind and probably forget them all anyway.
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