Bruce Tsuji, a Carleton psychology professor, will be taking part in this season of the CBC show Canada’s Smartest Person.
The show features individuals of various ages with diverse occupations competing against one another in a series of challenges. Participants will be tested in six areas of intelligence: linguistic, physical, musical, visual, social, and logical.
In each episode, there will be a group of six people competing, with the winner advancing to the season finale. In the finale, five participants will fight for the title of Canada’s Smartest Person.
The Charlatan spoke with Tsuji about his hopes and expectations for the show.
The Charlatan (TC): How did you find out about Canada’s Smartest Person?
Bruce Tsuji (BT): I found out about it when they called me. I guess they had been looking for different kinds of contestants for the show. I got what I first thought was a joke call . . . I returned the call and learned that it was actually a serious request to audition. I also didn’t realize how big the audition process was. I was in [a few] auditions. It wasn’t just an automatic thing, I actually had to try out. One of the things they asked me to do was [a] dance.
TC: What made you want to participate in the show?
BT: I’d never been in something quite like this before . . . Being a contestant on a TV show [is] a little bit outside my wheelhouse. So I thought ‘okay, I’ll give it a try.’
TC: Have you ever watched the show before?
BT: To be quite honest with you, before I was invited to apply, no, but since then, yeah, I’ve watched a few episodes.
TC: What are you hoping to get out of this experience?
BT: More than anything else, I want a bit of fun. So my expectations were absolutely fulfilled with respect to that.
TC: What are your feelings going into the competition?
BT: I’m confident, as well as a little bit nervous. There are many opportunities to end up looking very stupid . . . [but] regardless of whether I come off as looking smart or stupid . . . It’s a whole [lot] of fun trying to put yourself out in something that’s a little bit different and a little bit outside of your normal life, and that’s a good thing.
TC: Did you prepare for being on the show?
BT: No, no real preparations [were made]. The show is based on a view of intelligence that . . . [was] first advocated by a guy named Howard Gardner, who suggests that we have multiple dimensions of our smarts. The show utilizes that perspective, and so there’s really no questions that you can ever study for. It’s actually more like IQ tests [because] they don’t ask specific questions either . . . Instead they test your thinking abilities in different domains. There’s not really much you can do in terms of preparation, except for maybe getting a good night’s sleep.
TC: Do you think your experience and knowledge in psychology will help you in the show?
BT: I would sure hope so . . . I think it’s a good thing for me, knowing that the speed of my information processing has tailed off significantly compared to what it once was. But this view of intelligence also says that I should be able to pull in more elements of my life experience that would contribute to a global view of my smarts.
Season three of Canada’s Smartest Person starts Sunday Nov. 13 on CBC at 8 p.m. Tsuji will be featured on the episode airing Sunday Dec. 4.
-This interview has been condensed.
