---
product_id: 191183104
title: "Rock Breaks Scissors: A Practical Guide to Outguessing and Outwitting Almost Everybody"
price: "VT5607"
currency: VUV
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 12
url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/191183104-rock-breaks-scissors-a-practical-guide-to-outguessing-and-outwitting
store_origin: VU
region: Vanuatu
---

# Rock Breaks Scissors: A Practical Guide to Outguessing and Outwitting Almost Everybody

**Price:** VT5607
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- **What is this?** Rock Breaks Scissors: A Practical Guide to Outguessing and Outwitting Almost Everybody
- **How much does it cost?** VT5607 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/191183104-rock-breaks-scissors-a-practical-guide-to-outguessing-and-outwitting)

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## Description

Rock Breaks Scissors: A Practical Guide to Outguessing and Outwitting Almost Everybody - Kindle edition by Poundstone, William. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Rock Breaks Scissors: A Practical Guide to Outguessing and Outwitting Almost Everybody.

Review: Excellent topic and well explained - Although I am engineer and read a fair number of science books, this is the first time I have ever come across this topic which is a cross between number theory and behavioral economics. I found it very illuminating and well presented and not at all disorganized as the previous reviewer states. And I don't think a book should get a one star merely because another book covered the material well. The value of a book is how much the reader benefited from it. I am very intrigued by the topic as it brings together, game theory, number theory, and probability theory. Well done. Like it. Charan Langton complextoreal.com Added: I went back and looked at "machines that think" just out of curiosity. This is a book about history of artificial intelligence and in particular about the progress made in AI at a particular place (Dartmouth) and time (70's). The comparison is quite not appropriate. Now AI is a huge topic, far bigger than what this book is attempting to cover and describe that is the human biases and tendencies towards certain numbers particularly in light thresholds and constraints. When humans cheat they cheat in predictable ways, very much along what Dan Arielly talks about in his very excellent book "Predictably Irrational". The book discusses the Benford's Law, also called the First-Digit Law, which is the frequency distribution of digits in real data such as financial, tax returns, etc. In this distribution, the number 1 occurs as the leading digit about 30% of the time, while larger numbers occur in that position less frequently: 9 as the first digit less than 5% of the time. This law can be used to determine if the data being examined has been faked which tends to deviate from this distribution significantly. This because no matter how hard we try, we humans are unable to create truly random sequences of digits. We have too many predictable biases for certain numbers and in our attempt to appear non-random create patently non-random numbers be it on tax returns or others data such as faked experiment results. The author talks about in addition to out biases about certain numbers but also orders in which we pick things making "magic tricks" possible. So I am sticking to my rating.
Review: Maybe not that practical, but fun - I dispute the "practical" part of the title. By the nature of the book, different chapters sketching a superficial look at different subjects, it can't really be that practical. If you are involved in one of the subjects the book discusses, you may find one or two helpful tips, that could eke out some value for you. Despite not being altogether practical, the book is an interesting and thought provoking examination of a broad range of topics. The writing is direct, the concepts are understood by the author and communicated clearly.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| ASIN  | B00FPQA4R8 |
| Accessibility  | Learn more |
| Best Sellers Rank | #163,965 in Kindle Store ( See Top 100 in Kindle Store ) #121 in Cognitive Psychology (Kindle Store) #161 in Business Decision-Making #257 in Business Decision Making |
| Customer Reviews | 4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars (151) |
| Enhanced typesetting  | Enabled |
| File size  | 3.6 MB |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0316228084 |
| Language  | English |
| Page Flip  | Enabled |
| Print length  | 296 pages |
| Publication date  | June 3, 2014 |
| Publisher  | Little, Brown Spark |
| Screen Reader  | Supported |
| Word Wise  | Enabled |
| X-Ray  | Not Enabled |

## Images

![Rock Breaks Scissors: A Practical Guide to Outguessing and Outwitting Almost Everybody - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/911OHX44llL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent topic and well explained
*by M***E on July 12, 2014*

Although I am engineer and read a fair number of science books, this is the first time I have ever come across this topic which is a cross between number theory and behavioral economics. I found it very illuminating and well presented and not at all disorganized as the previous reviewer states. And I don't think a book should get a one star merely because another book covered the material well. The value of a book is how much the reader benefited from it. I am very intrigued by the topic as it brings together, game theory, number theory, and probability theory. Well done. Like it. Charan Langton complextoreal.com Added: I went back and looked at "machines that think" just out of curiosity. This is a book about history of artificial intelligence and in particular about the progress made in AI at a particular place (Dartmouth) and time (70's). The comparison is quite not appropriate. Now AI is a huge topic, far bigger than what this book is attempting to cover and describe that is the human biases and tendencies towards certain numbers particularly in light thresholds and constraints. When humans cheat they cheat in predictable ways, very much along what Dan Arielly talks about in his very excellent book "Predictably Irrational". The book discusses the Benford's Law, also called the First-Digit Law, which is the frequency distribution of digits in real data such as financial, tax returns, etc. In this distribution, the number 1 occurs as the leading digit about 30% of the time, while larger numbers occur in that position less frequently: 9 as the first digit less than 5% of the time. This law can be used to determine if the data being examined has been faked which tends to deviate from this distribution significantly. This because no matter how hard we try, we humans are unable to create truly random sequences of digits. We have too many predictable biases for certain numbers and in our attempt to appear non-random create patently non-random numbers be it on tax returns or others data such as faked experiment results. The author talks about in addition to out biases about certain numbers but also orders in which we pick things making "magic tricks" possible. So I am sticking to my rating.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Maybe not that practical, but fun
*by D***D on July 22, 2014*

I dispute the "practical" part of the title. By the nature of the book, different chapters sketching a superficial look at different subjects, it can't really be that practical. If you are involved in one of the subjects the book discusses, you may find one or two helpful tips, that could eke out some value for you. Despite not being altogether practical, the book is an interesting and thought provoking examination of a broad range of topics. The writing is direct, the concepts are understood by the author and communicated clearly.

### ⭐⭐⭐ Interesting, not entertaining
*by S***N on May 31, 2019*

The topics and content are interesting, and the examples the author uses are good. There's an obvious effort involved in the pre-work here. However, the chapters are quite repetitive, and at least half the book seems to be just filling material. Still enjoyed it and quote it regularly.

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*Store origin: VU*
*Last updated: 2026-02-21*