Poundstone, William

Rock breaks scissors is based on a simple principle: people are unable to act randomly. Instead they display unconscious patterns that the savvy person can outguess. The principle applies to friends playing rock, paper, scissors for a bar tab as well as to the crowds that create markets for homes and stocks. With a gift for distilling psychology and behavioral economics into accessible advice, Poundstone proves that outguessing is easy, fun, and often profitable.

A compendium of top-secret information reveals the truth about the Rorschach tests, lie detectors, secret ingredients in Coca-Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken, mysterious initiation rites, magicians' tricks, and others.

Discusses the puzzle questions asked by Microsoft and other Fortune 500 companies of potential employees.

A biography of twentieth-century scientist Carl Sagan, discussing his lifelong obsession with interplanetary travel and life in outer space, and considering how that interest made him an icon of popular culture, but reflected badly on his professional standing.

Presents answers and solutions to some of the weirdest and most challenging interview questions and discusses the importance of creative thinking and how to beat your competition in today's job market.

Reveals how, in 1956, two Bell Labs scientists, mathematician Claude Shannon, and physicist John L. Kelly, Jr., used their scientific knowledge to create a formula for making money that helped them beat the casinos in Las Vegas, make money on Wall Street, and win money in other ventures.