It's fair to say that a considerable amount of the discussion in William Poundstone's fascinating
book Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google? went over my
head. That's not to say it was a waste of
time. On the contrary, with every page flipped I found myself deep in thought trying as best as I could to solve the problems offered. I was proud of my response to the helium
balloon conundrum, and while I completely glazed over at any algebraic equation, I still gave it a shot – I quickly worked out after a short-lived stint in a three unit maths class at high school that two unit general would suffice for me. I didn't like algebra. Maybe that's why I'm an artist and not an accountant. The best part of William's book wasn't the conundrums so much as the insight into the interview process at giants like Google. The stories and anecdotes are sometimes humorous, sometimes impolite and at other times provoking, and William writes for people like me to understand. Take the challenge, you may surprise yourself.
