Job interviews are tough enough. Fortunately, most of us won't ever be subjected to Microsoft's noggin-cracking puzzles. But imagine you're a hotshot programmer applying for your dream job at Redmond. Your simple assignment: Design a house. After 10 minutes of sketching blueprints, you're told, "Actually, you forgot to ask, but this is a house for 48-foot blind giraffes."
William Poundstone pulls together all sorts of brainteasers in his new book How Would You Move Mount Fuji? Microsoft's Cult of the Puzzle. The questions have spread in recent years to Wall Street banks, airlines, and the US military - all organizations faced with big changes that require fresh ideas. And with employers too cowed by the threat of litigation to proffer negative references, or administer standard IQ tests in the case of new hires, the puzzles offer a quick way to gauge smarts, performance under fire, and, above all, creative thinking.
The mind-benders range from open-ended nerd koans ("How would you design Bill Gates' bathroom?") to advanced versions of classic word problems ("A train leaves Los Angeles for New York at a constant speed of 15 mph "). Unlike traditional tests, though, there's often no correct answer. It's all about thinking outside the box - just make certain you know what kind of box.
SOLVE THE PUZZLES
A few of the book's easier brainteasers:
There are three ants at the three corners of a regular triangle. Each ant starts moving in a straight line toward another, randomly chosen corner. What is the probability that none of the ants collide?
You have eight billiard balls. One of them is defective, meaning that it weighs more than the others. How do you tell, using a balance, which ball is defective in two weighings?
How would you locate a specific book in a big library? There's no catalog and no librarian to help you.
Mike and Todd have $21 between them. Mike has $20 more than Todd. How much does each have? You can't use fractions in the answer.
ANSWERS:
Answers
One in four. The ants can move 2 x 2 x 2 = 8 ways, but only in two combos - all clockwise or all counterclockwise - avoid a collision.
Put three balls on each scale; set two aside. If the heavy ball isn't on one end of the scale, it's on the sidelines. Either way, another weighing will find it.
There's several ways to approach this one. An obvious option: Make your own catalog, just not of the whole library. Identify patterns among the stacks, but zoom in as you recognize where yours might be.
Mike has $20.50. Todd has 50é. Are you going to fight for your answer or not? Welcome to life at Microsoft.
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Heart and Soul in the Machine
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Keiboard Gets the Thumbs Up
The Microsoft IQ Test
Ultimate Truth
Sick Bastard
Time Warp
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Bot
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