Audiobooks by William Poundstone

How Do You Fight a Horse-Sized Duck?: Secrets to Succeeding at Interview Mind Games and Getting the

Each year about 28 million Americans begin a search for a new job. Millions 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. How do selective employers choose which people to hire? It's through interviews asking uniquely demanding questions testing imagination, persistence, and creativity, like: ● Can an astronaut throw a baseball so it hits the Earth? ● If you had $2,000, how would you double it in twenty-four hours? ● How is a milk carton like a plane seat? ● Chicken McNuggets come in boxes of six, nine, and twenty. What's the largest number of McNuggets that McDonald's can't sell you?

William Poundstone (Author), Joel Richards (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Doomsday Calculation: How an Equation that Predicts the Future Is Transforming Everything We Kno

In the eighteenth 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's formula has become a linchpin of the digital economy. But here's where things get really interesting: Bayes's 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 Valley's profitable formula became a controversial pivot of contemporary thought. Drawing on interviews with thought leaders around the globe, it's 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 a must-listen for anyone interested in our culture and its future.

William Poundstone (Author), Kyle Tait (Narrator)

Audiobook

Head in the Cloud: Why Knowing Things Still Matters When Facts Are So Easy to Look Up

The real-world value of knowledge in the mobile-device age. More people know who Khloe Kardashian is than who Rene Descartes was. Most can't 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 don't know) on topics ranging from quantum physics to pop culture. HEAD IN THE CLOUD asks why we're okay with spelling errors on menus but not on resumes; why Fox News viewers don't know which party controls Congress; why people who know "trivia" make more money than those who don't; 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 doesn't know everything.

William Poundstone (Author), Chris Sorensen (Narrator)

Audiobook

Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?

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.

William Poundstone (Author), Joe Ochman (Narrator)

Audiobook