Guesstimation is a book that unlocks the power of approximation--it's
popular mathematics rounded to the nearest power of ten! The ability to
estimate is an important skill in daily life. More and more leading
businesses today use estimation questions in interviews to test
applicants' abilities to think on their feet. Guesstimation enables
anyone with basic math and science skills to estimate virtually
anything--quickly--using plausible assumptions and elementary
arithmetic.
Lawrence Weinstein and John Adam present an eclectic array of estimation
problems that range from devilishly simple to quite sophisticated and
from serious real-world concerns to downright silly ones. How long would
it take a running faucet to fill the inverted dome of the Capitol? What
is the total length of all the pickles consumed in the US in one year?
What are the relative merits of internal-combustion and electric cars,
of coal and nuclear energy? The problems are marvelously diverse, yet
the skills to solve them are the same. The authors show how easy it is
to derive useful ballpark estimates by breaking complex problems into
simpler, more manageable ones--and how there can be many paths to the
right answer. The book is written in a question-and-answer format with
lots of hints along the way. It includes a handy appendix summarizing
the few formulas and basic science concepts needed, and its small size
and French-fold design make it conveniently portable. Illustrated with
humorous pen-and-ink sketches, Guesstimation will delight popular-math
enthusiasts and is ideal for the classroom.
