Email Novel Suspects Logo
Hachette provides comprehensive global distribution services in the following territories:
United States flag Switch to United States region United Kingdom flag Switch to United Kingdom region Australia flag Switch to Australia region India flag Switch to India region

Hachette Book Group menu

  • Home
  • Publishers
  • Customers
  • Sustainability
  • Retailer Portal
  • Location
  • Our Culture
  • Our Careers
Go to Hachette Book Group home

Hachette Book Group menu

  • Home
  • Publishers
  • Customers
  • Sustainability
  • Retailer Portal
  • Location
  • Our Culture
  • Our Careers

By clicking “Accept,” you agree to the use of cookies and similar technologies on your device as set forth in our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy. Please note that certain cookies are essential for this website to function properly and do not require user consent to be deployed.

Rock Breaks Scissors

A Practical Guide to Outguessing and Outwitting Almost Everybody

Rock Breaks Scissors Open the full-size image

Loading

Contributors

By William Poundstone

Formats and Prices

On Sale
Jun 3, 2014
Page Count
320 pages
Publisher
Little Brown Spark
ISBN-13
9780316228084

Price

$9.99

Price

$12.99 CAD

Format

  1. Trade Paperback

Format:

  1. ebook $9.99 $12.99 CAD
  2. Trade Paperback $21.99 $28.99 CAD

Buy from Other Retailers:

  • Apple
  • Audible
  • Kobo
  • Libro.fm
  • AudioBooks.com
  • AudioBooksNow.com
  • AudioBookstore.com
  • Downpour.com
  • Google Play

A practical guide to outguessing everything, from multiple-choice tests to the office football pool to the stock market.

People are predictable even when they try not to be. William Poundstone demonstrates how to turn this fact to personal advantage in scores of everyday situations, from playing the lottery to buying a home. Rock Breaks Scissors is mind-reading for real life.

Will the next tennis serve go right or left? Will the market go up or down? Most people are poor at that kind of predicting. We are hard-wired to make bum bets on “trends” and “winning streaks” that are illusions. Yet ultimately we’re all in the business of anticipating the actions of others. Poundstone reveals how to overcome the errors and improve the accuracy of your own outguessing. Rock Breaks Scissors is a hands-on guide to turning life’s odds in your favor.

Genre:

  • Nonfiction
  • Psychology
  • Cognitive Psychology & Cognition

William Poundstone is the author of fourteen books -- including Rock Breaks Scissors, Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?, How Would You Move Mount Fuji?, and Fortune's Formula, which was Amazon Editor's pick for the number one nonfiction book of the year. He has written for the Believer, the Economist, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Esquire, Harper's, Harvard Business Review, the New York Times op-ed page and Book Review, and Village Voice. Follow Poundstone on Twitter (@WPoundstone) and learn more at his website, home.williampoundstone.net

  • "An ingenious guide to outsmarting others by predicting their choices when they are trying to be unpredictable." -- Kirkus (Starred Review)
  • Praise for Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?

    "Delightful, fun, and worth a read." --Seth Godin
  • "Poundstone displays his scientific knowledge, mathematical fluency, and knack for explaining the arcane in playfully precise sentences." --Bloomberg Businessweek
  • "A smart, engagingly written account of how to capitalize on other peoples' predictability . . . clearly explained and easily accessible to the general reader. An enlightening book."
    Booklist
  • "Of all of the books I've received for The Post, none has received as much over-the-shoulder reads than ROCK BREAKS SCISSORS."
    Susannah Callahan, The New York Post

You May Also Like

The Suggestible Brain
The Suggestible Brain $30.00 $39.00 CAD
Third Millennium Thinking
Third Millennium Thinking $30.00 $38.00 CAD
Thinking with Your Hands
Thinking with Your Hands $30.00 $38.00 CAD
Your Future Self
Your Future Self $36.00 $47.00 CAD
More Numbers Every Day
More Numbers Every Day $28.00 $35.00 CAD

William Poundstone

About the Author

William Poundstone is the author of seventeen books, including Rock Breaks Scissors, Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?, How Would You Move Mount Fuji?, and Fortune’s Formula. He has written for the Believer, the Economist, Esquire, Harper’s, Harvard Business Review, and the New York Times op-ed page and Book Review. Follow Poundstone on Twitter (@WPoundstone) and learn more at his website, home.williampoundstone.net

Learn more about this author

▲
HBG Distribution logo
  • FAQ
  • Vendors
  • Cookie Policy
  • Report Piracy
  • Fraud Alert
  • CPSIA
  • GPSR
© 2026 Hachette Book Group | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Do Not Sell My Personal Information