Question

In Chapter 19 of a work, raw silk and a form of this substance are held up as models for how humans should be. In the Zhuāngzǐ (“jwong-DZIH”), an entity composed of this substance comes to a man in a dream and explains how its uselessness allowed it to be preserved (10[1])while useful (10[1])things were destroyed. (10[1]-5[1])A non-Zhuāngzǐ work whose title mentions (10[1])this substance (10[1])has esoteric “inner chapters” and Confucian “outer chapters,” and was written by Hóng (-5[1])(“guh hong”), whose pseudonym mentions this substance. Mencius compared the folly of war to searching for a fish in a place composed (10[1])of this material. (10[1])Human’s natural state is likened to this material in the (10[1])Daoist term (10[1]-5[1])pǔ. (10[2])An Ancient Greek thought experiment asks if an object made of this material (10[2])that is replaced (10[2]-5[1])one piece at a time (10[1]-5[1])is still the same (10[1])object. (10[1])For 10 points, name this material used to build the Ship of Theseus. ■END■ (10[3])

ANSWER: wood [or timber; or ; accept planks; accept trees; prompt on until read by asking “what material does that term refer to?”; prompt on an uncarved block by asking “what material is the block made from?”] (The first clue is from the Dàodéjīng.)
<Philosophy>
= Average correct buzz position

Summary

2025 ACF Nationals04/19/2025Y21100%0%24%108.81

Buzzes

PlayerTeamOpponentBuzz PositionValue
Matthew WangBritish ColumbiaMichigan4910
Ezra SantosChicago BIllinois A5110
Albert Yingzhi NyangLSENorth Carolina A54-5
Amogh KulkarniGeorgia StateStanford5410
Yrwin BatanMITCornell B6010
Joseph ChambersVirginiaRutgers6210
John MarvinChicago AToronto B76-5
Anuttam RamjiUC Berkeley BOhio State9610
Nathan ZhangCornell AMaryland9910
Ben WismathToronto CNYU10910
Henry BonWinona StateColumbia A11110
Orion KellerVirginia TechJohns Hopkins111-5
Liam KusalikWaterloo AOttawa11210
Arjun KalaIllinois BWUSTL A11210
Tony ChenToronto ATexas12510
Chris SimsNorthwesternUCF12510
Joy AnHarvardVanderbilt128-5
Bryan UgazArizona StateNorth Carolina B12810
Caleb OttWaterloo BGeorgia Tech12810
William OrrYaleFlorida13310
Leo LawFloridaYale133-5
Nathaniel HullUC Berkeley AColumbia B13710
Jonathan ShaufNorth Carolina ALSE13810
Wenying WuToronto BChicago A15210
Gavin MarkoffVanderbiltHarvard15210
David BassJohns HopkinsVirginia Tech15210