Most Popular Books by William Poundstone

The No.1 bestseller new in paperback! You 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 world’s top employers, you’ll 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 postcrash, 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?

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? In 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.

"Quante palle da golf stanno in uno scuolabus? ", "Misurate esattamente 9 minuti usando soltanto una clessidra da 4 minuti e una da 7 minuti", "Sei ridotto alle dimensioni di una monetina e ti buttano in un frullatore. La tua massa è anch''essa ridotta in modo che la tua densità rimanga invariata. Le lame cominceranno a girare tra sessanta secondi. Cosa fai?" Questi sono soltanto alcuni dei test apparentemente impossibili che vengono trattati in Sei abbastanza sveglio per lavorare in Google? In questa guida del ventunesimo secolo al lavoro dei vostri sogni, William Poundstone svela la storia, i segreti e le tortuose tecniche di selezione delle più importanti aziende - in particolare delle compagnie tecnologiche - del giorno d''oggi, svelandovi come affrontare e risolvere decine dei più difficili quesiti utilizzati nei colloqui di lavoro. Scoprirete l''importanza del pensiero creativo (e le ragioni per cui le compagnie lo apprezzano più di ogni altra qualità o referenza), acquisirete gli strumenti per avere la meglio nella competizione (tenendo presente che talvolta potrebbe non esserci una risposta giusta, ma che c''è sempre una risposta migliore), comprenderete quanto conti la vostra pagina Facebook (e come volgere a vostro favore i social network) e molto altro ancora. Questo libro è una guida affascinante, divertente e indispensabile alla soluzione del problema di come avere successo nell''odierno mercato del lavoro.

What''s the point of knowing anything when facts are so easy to look up? Just reach for your computer, tablet or mobile and ask the sky. We''re living in the golden age of rational ignorance where more people know who Khloe Kardashian is than who René Descartes was and most of us can''t name the largest ocean on the planet. Yet the latest research indicates that the better informed are healthier, happier and often dramatically wealthier. Bestselling author William Poundstone conducts a hilarious and humbling investigation into the true worth of knowledge. What does it tell you, for example, when those who can pinpoint a country on a map are less likely to favour invading it? Underpinned by big data analysis and illustrated with eye-opening anecdotes, Poundstone''s Head in the Cloud is an entertaining manifesto on the surprising benefits of broadening your horizons, as well as a warning of the dangers of an ill-informed electorate.

o Je krimpt tot een grootte van een dubbeltje en wordt in een blender gegooid. De blender zal binnen een minuut worden aangezet. Wat doet je? o Je zet een glas met water op een grammofoon en geleidelijk begint die steeds sneller te draaien. Wat gebeurt er als eerst: het glas glijdt ervan af, het glas valt om of het water valt eruit? o Je krijgt een blok kaas en een mes. Hoeveel keer moet je de kaas snijden, zodat je 27 kleine, gelijke blokjes hebt? o Hoeveel hele getallen tussen de 1 en 1.000 bevatten een 3? o Op een verlaten snelweg is de kans dat er een auto langskomt binnen 30 minuten 95%. Hoe hoog is de kans dat er een auto langskomt binnen 10 minuten? o Leg aan je neefje van acht jaar uit wat een database is en gebruik hiervoor 3 zinnen. Dit zijn vragen die je gesteld kunnen worden als je bij Google - of een willekeurig ander bedrijf in de dotcom economy - solliciteert. Ben jij slim genoeg om bij Google te werken? loodst je langs verrassende antwoorden op tientallen van de meest uitdagende vragen die op je afgevuurd kunnen worden tijdens een sollicitatiegesprek.