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> Google is known for its rigorous entry testing: Potential new recruits are asked trick questions like "How many golf balls do you think will fit into a school

by 10098 13y ago

> Google is known for its rigorous entry testing: Potential new recruits are asked trick questions like "How many golf balls do you think will fit into a school bus?" That is a stupid myth, nobody asks these questions, at least it's not for software engineers.

jwoah12 13y ago
Agreed. After having done interviews at Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon at various times over the past 5 years, I never encountered a single one of these questions. I wonder why this myth continues to live on.
- saalweachter 13y ago
  Also, am I just stupid or is that not a trick question?
  - blankenship 13y ago
    “One. I think one golf ball would fit inside a school bus. Probably more. But I feel confident about one.”
    - DannyBee 13y ago
      Even if you treat it as a real question, it's not that hard, because buses meet maximum vehicle width restrictions, are of a few common lengths (which are rarely violated because they want to meet CDL gross vehicle weight restrictions so normal bus drivers can drive them), and the interiors are basically standardized. Using 35' x 7.5' x 6.5' would give you a reasonably close interior volume. Golf balls, on the other hand, have a standard volume (2.483 cubic inches). Even if you didn't know the number, you could guess pretty well and say the radius was an inch (which would get you close). Even if you start varying the bus width, length, and height, you can see the answer is somewhere between 1 and 2 million for a sanely sized bus.
  - svachalek 13y ago
    There's no trick other than realizing it's not a prompt to guess. (And I have encountered this sort of question in interviews, although it went out of style before you started interviewing 5 years ago.) It's amazing how many people will take a question like that and think the right thing to do is say "Um, 1000?" Or confidently nod and say "About 5500."

by 10098 13y ago

jwoah12 13y ago

Agreed. After having done interviews at Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon at various times over the past 5 years, I never encountered a single one of these questions. I wonder why this myth continues to live on.

saalweachter 13y ago
Also, am I just stupid or is that not a trick question?
- blankenship 13y ago
  “One. I think one golf ball would fit inside a school bus. Probably more. But I feel confident about one.”
  - DannyBee 13y ago
    Even if you treat it as a real question, it's not that hard, because buses meet maximum vehicle width restrictions, are of a few common lengths (which are rarely violated because they want to meet CDL gross vehicle weight restrictions so normal bus drivers can drive them), and the interiors are basically standardized. Using 35' x 7.5' x 6.5' would give you a reasonably close interior volume. Golf balls, on the other hand, have a standard volume (2.483 cubic inches). Even if you didn't know the number, you could guess pretty well and say the radius was an inch (which would get you close). Even if you start varying the bus width, length, and height, you can see the answer is somewhere between 1 and 2 million for a sanely sized bus.
- svachalek 13y ago
  There's no trick other than realizing it's not a prompt to guess. (And I have encountered this sort of question in interviews, although it went out of style before you started interviewing 5 years ago.) It's amazing how many people will take a question like that and think the right thing to do is say "Um, 1000?" Or confidently nod and say "About 5500."