William Poundstone

The real-world value of knowledge in the mobile-device age. More people know who Khloe Kardashian is than who Rene Descartes was. Most cant find Delaware on a map, correctly spell the word occurrence, or name the largest ocean on the planet. But how important is it to fill our heads with facts? A few keystrokes can summon almost any information in seconds. Why should we bother learning facts at all? Bestselling author William Poundstone confronts that timely question in Head in the Cloud. He shows that many areas of knowledge correlate with the quality of our lives -- wealth, health, and happiness -- and even with politics and behavior. Combining Big Data survey techniques with eye-opening anecdotes, Poundstone examines what Americans know (and dont know) on topics ranging from quantum physics to pop culture. Head in the Cloud asks why were okay with spelling errors on menus but not on resumes; why Fox News viewers dont know which party controls Congress; why people who know "trivia" make more money than those who dont; how individuals can navigate clickbait and media spin to stay informed about what really matters. Hilarious, humbling, and wildly entertaining, Head in the Cloud is a must-read for anyone who doesnt know everything.

Learn how to succeed at interview mind games and win job offers at Alist companies, with more than eighty difficult and devious questions, puzzles, and brain teasersEach year about 28 million Americans begin a search for a new job. Many more live in the age of the permanent job search, their online profiles eternally awaiting a better offer. Job seekers are more mobile and better informed than ever, aspiring to work for employers offering an appealing culture, a robust menu of perks, and opportunities for personal fulfillment and advancement. The result is that millions of applications stream to the handful of companies that regularly top listings of the best companies to work for: Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Alphabet, Disney, SpaceX, Oracle, Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, and others. Tesla has received as many as 200 applications for each open position. How do selective employers choose which people to hire? Its through interviews asking uniquely demanding questions testing imagination, persistence, and creativity, like: Can an astronaut throw a baseball so it hits Earth? If you had $2,000, how would you double it in 24 hours? How is a milk carton like a plane seat? Chicken McNuggets come in boxes of 6, 9, and 20. Whats the largest number of McNuggets that McDonalds cant sell you? How many dogs in the world have the exact same number of hairs? How Do You Fight a Horse-Sized Duck? explores the new world of interviewing at A-list employers. It reveals more than eighty notoriously challenging interview questions and supplies both answers and a general strategy for creative problem-solving.

From the author of Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?, a fascinating look at how an equation that foretells the future is transforming everything we know about life, business, and the universe.In the 18th century, the British minister and mathematician Thomas Bayes devised a theorem that allowed him to assign probabilities to events that had never happened before. It languished in obscurity for centuries until computers came along and made it easy to crunch the numbers. Now, as the foundation of big data, Bayes formula has become a linchpin of the digital economy.But heres where things get really interesting: Bayes theorem can also be used to lay odds on the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence; on whether we live in a Matrix-like counterfeit of reality; on the "many worlds" interpretation of quantum theory being correct; and on the biggest question of all: how long will humanity survive?The Doomsday Calculation tells how Silicon Valleys profitable formula became a controversial pivot of contemporary thought. Drawing on interviews with thought leaders around the globe, its the story of a group of intellectual mavericks who are challenging what we thought we knew about our place in the universe. The Doomsday Calculation is compelling reading for anyone interested in our culture and its future.

How do you predict something that has never happened before

How do you predict something that has never happened before

You are shrunk to the height of a nickel and thrown in a blender. The blades start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do? If you want to work at Google, or any of America's best companies, you need to have an answer to this and other puzzling questions. ARE YOU SMART ENOUGH TO WORK AT GOOGLE? guides readers through the surprising solutions to dozens of the most challenging interview questions. The book covers the importance of creative thinking, ways to get a leg up on the competition, what your Facebook page says about you, and much more. ARE YOU SMART ENOUGH TO WORK AT GOOGLE? is a must read for anyone who wants to succeed in today's job market

Los dilemas de la vida real surgen gracias a las diversas maneras con las que nuestros intereses individuales se contraponen a los de los demás y a los de la sociedad en general. Diariamente, hemos de tomar decisiones dificiles, a veces con resultados distintos de los que habiamos esperado. Se plantea entonces la siguiente cuestion, simple y a la vez apremiante: ¿existe un comportamiento racional para cada situacion? En El dilema del prisionero se analiza este tipo de cuestiones a la luz de la moderna teoria matematica de juegos. El autor introduce en este libro los aspectos fundamentales de tan importante teoria a traves del analisis de casos concretos, en su mayoria de evidente relevancia sociologica (por ejemplo, estudia desde el punto de vista de la teoria de juegos el dilema de la carrera nuclear EE.UU.-URSS durante la guerra fria). Asimismo, a lo largo de la obra se intercalan importantes facetas de la biografia personal y cientifica del creador de la teoria de juegos, el genial matematico John von Neumann.

Los dilemas de la vida real surgen a partir de las diversas maneras en que nuestros intereses individuales se contraponen a los de los demás y a los de la sociedad en general. Muy a menudo nos vemos en la situacion de tomar decisiones dificiles, a veces con resultados distintos de los que habiamos esperado. Se plantea entonces la siguiente cuestion, simple y a la vez apremiante: ¿existe un comportamiento racional para cada situacion? En "El dilema del prisionero" se analiza este tipo de cuestiones a la luz de la moderna teoria matematica de juegos. William Poundstone presenta en este libro los aspectos fundamentales de tan importante teoria a traves del analisis de casos concretos, en su mayoria de evidente relevancia sociologica (por ejemplo, estudia desde este punto de vista el dilema de la carrera nuclear EE.UU.-URSS durante la Guerra Fria). Asimismo, a lo largo de la obra se intercalan importantes facetas de la biografia personal y cientifica del creador de la teoria de juegos: el genial matematico John von Neumann.

Los dilemas de la vida real surgen gracias a las diversas maneras con las que nuestros intereses individuales se contraponen a los de los demás y a los de la sociedad en general. Diariamente, hemos de tomar decisiones dificiles, a veces con resultados distintos de los que habiamos esperado. Se plantea entonces la siguiente cuestion, simple y a la vez apremiante: ¿existe un comportamiento racional para cada situacion? En EL DILEMA DEL PRISIONERO se analiza este tipo de cuestiones a la luz de la moderna teoria matematica de juegos. WILLIAM POUNDSTONE introduce en este libro los aspectos fundamentales de tan importante teoria a traves del analisis de casos concretos, en su mayoria de evidente relevancia sociologica (por ejemplo, estudia desde este punto de vista el dilema de la carrera nuclear EE.UU.-URSS durante la Guerra Fria). Asimismo, a lo largo de la obra se intercalan importantes facetas de la biografia personal y de la teoria de juegos, el genial matematico John von Neumann.

En esta cautivadora biografía de Carl Sagan, William Poundstone detalla cómo un joven astrónomo, apasionado por la ciencia y obsesionado con la búsqueda de vida en otros mundos, se transforma en una autentica superestrella mediatica. El Sagan inmediatamente reconocible, invitado imprescindible en la television y escritor de extraordinario exito, abrio a los legos la puerta de entrada a los misterios tanto del cosmos como de la ciencia en general. Buena parte de la comunidad cientifica vio en el, sin embargo, a un paria, a un descarado buscador de publicidad que se preocupaba mas de su imagen y de su fortuna que del avance de la ciencia. Poundstone revela y documenta con rigor los aspectos rara vez tratados de la vida de Sagan: el legitimo e importante trabajo al comienzo de su carrera cientifica, su capacidad casi obsesiva para embarcarse en proyectos infinitos como la busqueda de vida extraterrestre, pasando por sus aventuras y desventuras matrimoniales, los avatares de su ambicion academica y sus conexiones con otros personajes famosos como Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke o Steven Spielberg.Carl Sagan. Una vida en el cosmos constituye una biografia personal y cientifica del que es, sin duda, el astronomo contemporaneo mas conocido, que ha ejercido una enorme influencia sobre multitud de personas a traves de sus obras de divulgacion cientifica. El texto de Poundstone ofrece una sintesis, cualificada y documentada con rigor, de la produccion cientifica y divulgativa de este personaje, y ademas recopila toda una serie de datos personales y vitales de un personaje publico conocido y un cientifico respetable, siempre dispuesto a defender posturas progresistas en el contexto sociopolitico conservador que le toco vivir.

We are hard-wired to believe that the world is more predictable than it is. We chase winning streaks that are often just illusions, and we are all too predictable exactly when we try hardest not to be.In the 1970s, Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky coined the phrase representativeness to describe the psychology of this behaviour. Since then representativeness has been used by auditors to catch people fiddling their tax returns and by hedge fund managers to reap billions from the emotions of small investors. Now Poundstone for the first time makes these techniques fun, easy, and profitable for everyone, in the everyday situations that matter. Youll learn how to tackle multiple choice tests, what internet passwords to avoid, how to up your odds of winning the office Premier League sweepstakes, and the best ways to invest your money.

An entertaining book we can all enjoy highly informative and amusing. Daily MailFull of valuable insightthis is a must-read for those looking to nail their next interview. Publishers WeeklyHow Do You Fight a Horse-Sized Duck? explores the new world of interviewing at A-list employers like Apple, Netflix and Amazon. It reveals more than 70 outrageously perplexing riddles and puzzles and supplies both answers and general strategy for creative problem-solving.Questions like:Today is Tuesday. What day of the week will it be 10 years from now on this date?How would you empty a plane full of Skittles?How many times would you have to scoop the ocean with a bucket to cause sea levels to drop one foot?You have a broken calculator. The only number key that works is the 0. All the operator keys work. How can you get the number 24?How many dogs have the exact same number of hairs?

The first book to reveal how everday pricing strategies manipulate us Why do text messages cost money while emails are free? Why do cereal packets keep getting smaller? Why do department stores have a few extortionate goods that no one will buy? Why do so many prices end in 9?Discover how everyday pricing strategies are designed to manipulate us and how to fight backAn instructive and entertaining romp. DANIEL KAHNEMAN, AUTHOR OF THINKING, FAST AND SLOWPoundstone is your savvy, witty guide to saving the pound in your purse.THE TIMESIn Priceless, bestselling author William Poundstone reveals the hidden psychology of value and explores how we react to the most pervasive persuader of all: price. Charting the burgeoning growth of price-consultants who advise retailers from Nike to Nokia, Poundstone shows how behavioural decision theory has revolutionised the pricing strategies of major corporations.Informed by fascinating behavioural experiments and packed with real-life examples, Priceless explains why prices are so important, and the tricks that companies use to sell their goods. It will prove indispensable to anyone who buys, sells, or negotiates.Poundstone reveals:Why it is so many prices end in 9.How it is that text messages cost money, but emails remain free.The real reason cereal packets keep getting smaller... and smaller...

The No.1 bestseller new in paperback!Pit your brains against the taxing riddles used by the worlds best companies to select their staffTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERSubtle and sophisticated... you will love this book.ObserverYou are shrunk to the height of a penny and thrown in a blender. The blades start moving in sixty seconds. What do you do? If you want to work at Google, or any of the worlds top employers, youll need to have a convincing answer to this and countless other baffling puzzles.Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google? Reveals the new extreme interview questions in the hypercompetitive job-market and uncovers the extraordinary lengths to which the best companies will go to find the right staff. Bestselling author William Poundstone guides readers through the surprising solutions to over a hundred of the most challenging conundrums used in interviews, as well as covering the importance of creative thinking, what your Facebook page says about you, and what really goes on inside the Googleplex. How will you fare?

Never before have we had so much information at our fingertips. You might think that we are better-informed than ever, but theres one thing we cant ask Google: What should I be googling?The way we consume information in the digital age has been blamed for driving political polarisation and leaving us unable to agree on basic facts. Its also making us stupider. Personalised news feeds and social media echo chambers narrow our potential knowledge base. By now, we dont even know what we dont know.In Head in the Cloud, William Poundstone investigates the true worth of knowledge. An entertaining manifesto underpinned by big data analysis and illustrated by eye-opening anecdotes, it reveals the surprising benefits of broadening your horizons and provides an unnerving look at the consequences of being ill-informed.

How do you predict something that has never happened before?Theres a useful calculation being employed by Wall Street, Silicon Valley and maths professors all over the world, and it predicts that the human species will become extinct in 760 years. Unfortunately, there is disagreement over how to apply the formula, and some argue that we might only have twenty years left.Originally devised by British clergyman Thomas Bayes, the theorem languished in obscurity for two hundred years before being resurrected as the lynchpin of the digital economy. With brief detours into archaeology, philology, and overdue library books, William Poundstone explains how we can use it to predict pretty much anything. What is the chance that there are multiple universes? How long will Hamilton run? Will the US stock market continue to perform as well this century as it has for the last hundred years? And are we really all doomed?

A practical guide to outguessing everything, from multiple-choice tests to the office football pool to the stock market. People are predictable even when they try not to be. William Poundstone demonstrates how to turn this fact to personal advantage in scores of everyday situations, from playing the lottery to buying a home. Rock Breaks Scissors is mind-reading for real life. Will the next tennis serve go right or left? Will the market go up or down? Most people are poor at that kind of predicting. We are hard-wired to make bum bets on "trends" and "winning streaks" that are illusions. Yet ultimately were all in the business of anticipating the actions of others. Poundstone reveals how to overcome the errors and improve the accuracy of your own outguessing. Rock Breaks Scissors is a hands-on guide to turning lifes odds in your favor.

A masterful work of science writing thats "both a fascinating biography of von Neumann, the Hungarian exile whose mathematical theories were building blocks for the A-bomb and the digital computer, and a brilliant social history of game theory and its role in the Cold War and nuclear arms race" (San Francisco Chronicle). Should you watch public television without pledging?...Exceed the posted speed limit?...Hop a subway turnstile without paying? These questions illustrate the so-called "prisoners dilemma", a social puzzle that we all face every day. Though the answers may seem simple, their profound implications make the prisoners dilemma one of the great unifying concepts of science. Watching players bluff in a poker game inspired John von Neumannfather of the modern computer and one of the sharpest minds of the centuryto construct game theory, a mathematical study of conflict and deception. Game theory was readily embraced at the RAND Corporation, the archetypical think tank charged with formulating military strategy for the atomic age, and in 1950 two RAND scientists made a momentous discovery.Called the "prisoners dilemma," it is a disturbing and mind-bending game where two or more people may betray the common good for individual gain. Introduced shortly after the Soviet Union acquired the atomic bomb, the prisoners dilemma quickly became a popular allegory of the nuclear arms race. Intellectuals such as von Neumann and Bertrand Russell joined military and political leaders in rallying to the "preventive war" movement, which advocated a nuclear first strike against the Soviet Union. Though the Truman administration rejected preventive war the United States entered into an arms race with the Soviets and game theory developed into a controversial tool of public policyalternately accused of justifying arms races and touted as the only hope of preventing them. Prisoners Dilemma is the incisive story of a revolutionary idea that has been hailed as a landmark of twentieth-century thought.

En esta cautivadora biografía de Carl Sagan, William Poundstone detalla cómo un joven astrónomo, apasionado por la ciencia y obsesionado con la búsqueda de vida en otros mundos, se transforma en una autentica superestrella mediatica. El Sagan inmediatamente reconocible, invitado imprescindible en la television y escritor de extraordinario exito, abrio a los legos la puerta de entrada a los misterios tanto del cosmos como de la ciencia en general. Buena parte de la comunidad cientifica vio en el, sin embargo, a un paria, a un descarado buscador de publicidad que se preocupaba mas de su imagen y de su fortuna que del avance de la ciencia. Poundstone revela y documenta con rigor los aspectos rara vez tratados de la vida de Sagan: el legitimo e importante trabajo al comienzo de su carrera cientifica, su capacidad casi obsesiva para embarcarse en proyectos infinitos como la busqueda de vida extraterrestre, pasando por sus aventuras y desventuras matrimoniales, los avatares de su ambicion academica y sus conexiones con otros personajes famosos como Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke o Steven Spielberg.