William Poundstone Quotes

United States, Writer
March 29, 1955

William Poundstone is an American author, columnist, and skeptic. He has written a number of books including the Big Secrets series and a biography of Carl Sagan. He is a cousin of comedian Paula Poundstone.

Also known as Columnist

The best strategy is one that offers the highest compound return consistent with no risk of going broke.

William Poundstone
Use "entropy" and you can never lose a debate, von Neumann told Shannon - because no one really knows what "entropy" is.

William Poundstone
- Debate
- Entropy
- Neumann

Your second ducat, like your second million, is never quite as sweet.

William Poundstone
- Never
- Sweet
- Millions
Are there any mythical beasts which aren't simple pastiches of nature? Centaurs, minotaurs, unicorns, griffons, chimeras, sphinxes, manticores, and the like don't speak well for the human imagination. None is as novel as a kangaroo or starfish.

William Poundstone
People tend to be clueless about prices. Contrary to economic theory, we don't really decide between A and B by consulting our invisible price tags and purchasing the one that yields the higher utility, he says. We make do with guesstimates and a vague recollection of what things are “supposed to cost.”

William Poundstone
Samuelson, however, hedged his personal bets - by putting some of his own money in Berkshire Hathaway.

William Poundstone
Expectation is a statistical fiction, like having 2.5 children.

William Poundstone
The best paradoxes raise questions about what kinds of contradictions can occur-what species of impossibilities are possible.

William Poundstone

In real conversations, we are always trying to outguess each other.

William Poundstone
A bit is worth 10,000 basis points.

William Poundstone
- Bases
- Bits