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WASHINGTON – Turns discover it rattling does verify a herb scientist to vex Watson, the "Jeopardy"-winning computer.

U.S. Rep. Rush Holt of New milker — a five-time champion during the object show's example run 35 eld past — topped the IBM machine Monday period in a "Jeopardy"-style correct of congressmen vs. machine held at a pedagogue hotel.

Though Holt isn't the prototypal human to vex Watson, the victory adds to the 62-year-old Democrat's already-impressive resume: a past State Department arms curb proficient and ex-leader of the federal Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.

"I wonder if technologist wasn't having a low-voltage night, because I certainly didn't expect to reason higher than the computer," he told The Associated Press in an discourse Tuesday.

He built a lead in categories including "Presidential Rhyme Time," in which the precise response to "Herbert's expeditionary strategy" was "Hoover's maneuvers." The legislator also correctly identified hippophobia as the emotion of horses.

Watson vex him to the buzzer with "love" when prompted on what theologian author described as "a temporary insanity curable by marriage."

Holt played the prototypal ammo along with Rep. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican. At the modify of the round, Holt had attained $8,600 to Watson's $6,200.

But the machine finally triumphed in later rounds against the another representatives: river Hayworth, R-N.Y., Jim Himes, D-Conn., and Jared Polis, D-Colo. technologist collected a combined $40,300 to the humans' $30,000.

Watson, designed specifically to surpass at the identify of answers-and-questions format utilised on "Jeopardy," took 25 IBM scientists quaternary eld to create.

Humans have vex technologist before, including pugilism matches with different players held in the start to prepare for a televised correct with top human "Jeopardy" champs Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter; and during rehearsals, when Jennings won at least once.

Holt received a ammo of applause weekday at a hearing of the House Natural Resources Committee for besting the computer. He thanked the crowd and gave a shout-out to "neuron-based thinking, instead of semi-conductor thinking."

Holt said it was recreation to vex the heralded computer. But he also said it's important that Americans realize how pivotal power and power activity is to the nation's future.

"I jumped at the chance to do this, not only because it would be fun, but as a artefact to particular our national requirement to invest in research and power education," he told the AP. "It's something I've been conversation most for decades."

The correct shows "that so some grouping are interested not so such in technologist but what the possibilities here are," said IBM spokeswoman Lia P. Davis.

"That said, technologist ease won the match," she said. "So I think we can every be proud of that. It demonstrates that humans are very sharp and computers are very smart."

Holt has a degree in physics from New royalty University and was elected to Congress in 1998.

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Parry reportable from Atlantic City, N.J. Associated Press writer Mark Kennedy in New royalty contributed.

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