Probably Unanswerable Questions
Jim’s book; $2.5 million; final run; debt arithmetic; Dexter’s refusal; fix payout
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:32:36Read transcript
- What is Jim’s novel Uphill Both Ways about? A working-class story or adult Catcher in the Rye are speculative possibilities.
- Is $2.5 million really enough for permanent financial independence? Goodman’s unusually specific figure is accepted.
- How far does Jim run? The apparent long journey may only be about a mile to the Los Altos apartments, with confusing downtown geography.
- A detailed debt calculation reaches $656,000 owed before the basketball bet, then $350,000 available for roulette after Neville is repaid; winning leaves $700,000 to settle the remaining debts.
- Dexter declines the offered $50,000; his assumption that tennis will readily supply comparable money is criticized.
- The roulette win exceeds the debt: Bennett leaves the surplus rather than keeping it, reinforcing his wish to be free.
- The basketball fix’s overall payout is uncertain; estimates of the participants’ cuts and larger winnings remain speculation.