Comments on: Forget the next debate... The candidates should take the GLAT.

Forget the next debate... The candidates should take the GLAT.

limitedpie — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 10:00:26 -0800

What number comes next in the sequence: 10, 9, 60, 90, 70, 66, ? How would you do on the GLAT? Page 1, 2, 3 and 4.

By: chuq

chuq — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 10:11:32 -0800

It looks like I won't be getting a job at Google unless it's with (or as) their chef.

By: Argyle

Argyle — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 10:12:55 -0800

So now they post the images.... Two weeks ago, I scanned in the test, posted the images, and got friggin' Slashdotted so bad it took my site down for 4 days.

By: Pretty_Generic

Pretty_Generic — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 10:16:06 -0800

I think Kerry would fail. I think Bush would use it as a napkin.

By: adamg

adamg — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 10:35:29 -0800

4, 14, 23, 34, 42, 47, 57, 63 ...

By: gleuschk

gleuschk — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 10:56:57 -0800

Integer sequence questions are pretty much trivial, thanks to N.J.A. Sloane.

By: skyline

skyline — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 11:05:55 -0800

My bet is "C. Either of the above." For any data, you can create in infinite number of functions that will match it. You could easily create a function where the next value will be either of those.

By: mkultra

mkultra — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 11:07:14 -0800

I totally had the answer, but gleuschk beat me to it! I swear!

By: skyline

skyline — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 11:07:55 -0800

My mistake, gleuschk has it.

By: fvw

fvw — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 11:28:04 -0800

I've been working on the GLAT too (please don't link this too much, I'd like to keep my miniscule chance of getting employed by google from getting any more miniscule), and while the one gleuschk found was the first one I came up with I don't quite buy that the other option is just a totally random number. There must be something special about it, if nothing else than that it's subtly wrong or something. skyline: Yes, but the trick is to find a function that is simpler than the numbers themselves given the common knowledge the questionee is expected to have (the english language in this case).

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 11:42:35 -0800

skyline -- Whenever I answered sequence or analogy questions in similar smart-ass, overly-complicated ways, my teachers would respond, "That's why you're supposed to pick the best answer, not necessarily the 'right' one." But yeah, I agree with you.

By: fvw

fvw — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 11:57:26 -0800

Robin Ward (a non-member lurker) just mailed me with the reason for 10¹⁰⁰ being one of the options: It is ofcourse a Googol.

By: thomcatspike

thomcatspike — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 12:02:54 -0800

fvw; Google probably already knows that the test is being viewed on-line.

By: fvw

fvw — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 12:29:18 -0800

Hmm? I should imagine so; They're the ones who've posted it, check the link URL. (Though others have put it online before)

By: Hildago

Hildago — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 12:29:52 -0800

Is this one of those things where you're just supposed to be creative and entertain them? I like tests where you get a box to doodle in.

By: psychotic_venom

psychotic_venom — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 12:36:50 -0800

fvw: Not to be a jerk or anything, but the type of people that would actually work for Google would want more people to come and take the test, just so that they would know they were the best. That's the enviroment they are cultivating and the ideas they are promoting. If you're not the best of the best of the best, you can keep knocking, but we'll spot you a mile away and lock the doors.

By: fvw

fvw — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 12:53:54 -0800

True, but that doesn't mean that should I not be the best of the best (however you choose to define that), I'd prefer to work for google along with the best of the best, to only the best of the best working there and not me. I'm egotistical like that...

By: aws17576

aws17576 — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 13:16:32 -0800

I want to see whatever answer for #19 fits comfortably in the space provided. In 20 minutes, I wasn't able to come up with an explicit answer at all, though existence is a consequence of the "Marriage Lemma" (viz.: If every girl in a village fancies some subset of the boys, and for every k girls there are at least k boys, each of whom at least one of those k girls fancies, then a thoughtful matchmaker can satisfy all the girls without resorting to the advocacy of bigamy). [/geek]

By: thomcatspike

thomcatspike — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 14:03:22 -0800

fvw, a person w/o a degree who can ace the test may benifit from it when being looked at for the position. My company gives a standard apptitude test and also a test which questions covers basic knowledge to do the job. When looking at the scores of the apptitued test, the peson w/o a degree is considered over the person with a degree. ymmv

By: fvw

fvw — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 14:26:11 -0800

Thomcatspike: Yes, that's probably a wise strategy. What comment/point of mine are you addressing with this though?

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 14:28:07 -0800

I dont know what answer they're looking for for #11, but I can guess what someone like Niels Bohr or Robert Oppenheimer or William Siri would have answered.

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 15:32:25 -0800

8. How many different ways can you color an icosahedron with one of three colors on each face? 3²⁰ = 3486784401, for some random icosahedron. Some smaller number, which is much more difficult to figure out, for a regular icosahedron, which is highly symmetric. But the question doesn't specify a regular icosahedron.

By: thomcatspike

thomcatspike — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 15:44:52 -0800

What comment/point of mine are you addressing with this though? fvw, Ignore my last comment as it was incomplete(look at the misspellings) and was not meant to be posted(hit enter while answering the phone which posted it). I was starting to go into specifics that I didn't want to further address. Also the comment seemed more negative than positive feed back to you. Wanted to say(w/o out too much detail)... "Don't put all your eggs in one basket" - You may be hired w/o passing this test. Sure there are more than one test given for all the company's positions. There will be many factors in being hired. Do see this type of test benefiting a person with little experience or no college degree in the end process. Because the well qualified will be hired no matter their score here. As they may have previous job experience(s), a college degree in the field and do better in other areas being interviewed that will be looked at as well. Looking at the fact that this test is Google's creation, if passing this test by being prepared for it is the only way you could be hired by Google, the company may not be suited for you. Not saying you are – your earlier comment sounded like it when asking for the test to be linked little as possible - saw your comment about Google linking it and it was then that I decided not to post my comment along with the other reasons, my goof, it was posted anyway. Being over prepared does not hurt, ymmv, good luck.

By: thomcatspike

thomcatspike — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 15:58:19 -0800

I dont know what answer they're looking for for #11, That was one of the few questions I could answer w/o much thinking. When deciding where to go, Google the places mentioned in the question and look for planned events on that day & time. By picking the place that had an event your narrowing down the "must see" factor. Yet then that answers would really look like I was brown nosing, but I have done most of my Internet searches through Google. Or you could have answered, "Life is a Beach" and go to the beach, damn California.

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 23:26:00 -0800

DevilsAdvocate, they may have meant coloring in the technical sense (adjacent faces do not share a color) in which case the answer is 144. Either way, badly phrased. -1 points for Google labs.

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 23:36:11 -0800

Oh, and for most beautiful equation, I nominate one by Ramanujan, possibly this expansion of the Phi though there are some more beautiful and outlandish ones out there.

By: sebas

sebas — Tue, 05 Oct 2004 00:12:29 -0800

Either way, badly phrased Unlike specifications for new products, which are always phrased in a way that there is no question how to work on them.

By: bashos_frog

bashos_frog — Tue, 05 Oct 2004 00:58:55 -0800

DevilsAdvocate: <monty python> Q. How many different ways can you color an icosahedron with one of three colors on each face? A. What do you mean? Regular or Rhombic? </monty python>

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Tue, 05 Oct 2004 01:28:42 -0800

Unlike specifications for new products... Good point! In that case, my answer, since they didnt say *different* colors is: 1. Only one way. 2. Green, Green, Green