A post this morning on LongorShortCapital reminds us this morning of the best interview question we’ve ever heard. A friend of ours who managed a trading operation at a then-up-and-coming and now big time investment bank used to ask it regularly to kids who came through his door looking to get a start on Wall Street. It works the same way the annoying questions—how many pay phones in the US? Why are manhole covers round—work but it’s a lot more fun. The point, obviously, is to see how you deal with a difficult situation and how you reason your way through the problem.
The question: “Bear versus shark. Who wins the fight?”
Feel free to leave your answer in the comments.
Posted by ken , Aug 30, 2006 12:08PM
I'd respond with another question: is the fight on land or in the water?
Posted by Vijay Veerachandran , Aug 30, 2006 12:39PM
Just a try,
Total US population : 300 Million
Office and Home phone:75% = 300- 225 = 75 Million
Cell phone : 60% = 75-45 = 30 million
Gives 10% of people doesnt have access to phones of any kind in Home or in Office
Phone calls average min : 1 Minute Average no: of calls / Person with out phone : 4/5
Ie 5 mins / person
20 Hours= 240 mins
Ies 30 Million / 240 = gives nearly 85 thousand pay phones..
Any comments : Vijay.Chandran@yahoo.com
Posted by dclounger , Aug 30, 2006 2:28PM
Does "I'd search on google for the answer" count? Because that's how I normally deal with a difficult situation and reason my way through the problem
Posted by Ballsy , Aug 30, 2006 3:48PM
"Give me 10 minutes, and I'll be right back with your answer."
Posted by will , Aug 30, 2006 3:51PM
The fight would have to be in water, otherwise how could the two even fight?
The real question is water depth. Minimum depth to fit the shark and maximum depth would depend on why the Bear is in the water in the first place. Is the bear fishing knee high in a delta when the shark encounters it or swimming to the other side in twenty feet of water?
The greater the depth, the more likely a Shark victory.
Posted by bill thul , Aug 30, 2006 3:55PM
You are all idiots... Obviously, the Lion wins..
Posted by Bill Thurston , Aug 30, 2006 4:15PM
Wrong again retards! The Liger kills all
Posted by Davis Freeberg , Aug 30, 2006 5:06PM
The shark would defenitely win because sharks make a killing whether it's a bull or bear market. Bears are only one trick ponies.
Posted by Vijay Veerachandran , Aug 30, 2006 7:42PM
I did a quick search on google and found that number of pay phones in US is 78,000 which is pretty close to 85,000 I suggested
Posted by Vijay Veerachandran , Aug 30, 2006 7:44PM
Shark/s win all the time irrespective of Bearish or Bullish..
Watch wallstreet..
Posted by bs? , Aug 30, 2006 7:59PM
Hmm, 78,000 that's a big drop from the fcc's 2003 number:
According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the number of pay phones in the US dropped to 1.5 million in 2003, down from 2.1 million five years earlier - as the number of cellphone users surged. In Maine during that same period, the number of pay phones declined by almost half, says Mr. Adams.
taken from here:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0411/p01s02-uspo.html
Posted by Jon , Aug 30, 2006 8:31PM
Which Bear and which Shark. I'm not familiar with anyone on the Bears, but either one of the Thorton cousins from the Sharks would put up a pretty tough fight.
Posted by SM , Aug 31, 2006 9:54AM
Wait.
Which one is armed with the payphone, and which one gets the manhole?
Posted by charles , Aug 31, 2006 12:26PM
come ON....the bears have Ditka! Hasn't anyone seen SNL?
Posted by josh , Nov 29, 2006 9:50AM
the bear would totally win... DUR!
Posted by ray , Mar 02, 2007 10:41AM
What really needs to be asked is why are they fighting and is there a prize given to the winner?
Maybe they can talk it out.
Posted by montecino , Jun 09, 2007 11:36PM
The shark. If you are on firm ground, you are safe, there is no need for a fight. It's when you are "In over your head", "In DEEP shit" or in "Unstable territory (like water)" that you need to perform your best, weave yor magic, be cunning, brutal, calculating and smart to come out on top. Definately the shark. Sharks are also predators, forever hungry and dont hibernate. Big business dont want people who sleep through the winter