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Do You Think You're Clever?: The Oxford and Cambridge Questions

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'What happens if I drop an ant'? 'What books are bad for you'? 'What percentage of the world's water is contained in a cow'? The Oxbridge undergraduate interviews are infamous for their unique ways of assessing candidates, and from these peculiar enquiries, professors can tell just how smart you really are. John Farndon has collected together 75 of the most intriguing questions taken from actual admission interviews and gives full answers to each, taking the reader through the fascinating histories, philosophies, sciences and arts that underlie each problem. This is a book for everyone who likes to think they're clever, or who thinks they'd like to be clever. And cleverness is not just knowing stuff, it's how laterally, deeply and interestingly you can bend your brain. Guesstimating the population of Croydon, for example, opens a chain of thought from which you can predict the strength of a nuclear bomb ...and that's just the start of it.

220 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2009

88 people are currently reading
703 people want to read

About the author

John Farndon

634 books31 followers
John Farndon is an internationally known author, as well as a playwright, composer and songwriter, whose work has been performed at such theatres as the Donmar and Almeida in London and the Salisbury Playhouse and selected for showcases, such as Beyond the Gate.

He has written hundreds of books, which have sold millions of copies around the world in most major languages and include many best-sellers, such as the award-winning Do Not Open, which received rave reviews in the USA and became a cult-hit as well as featuring on the New York Times and Washington Post best-seller lists. In earlier years, he wrote mostly for children, and has been shortlisted a record four times for the junior Science Book prize. Books such as How Science Works and How the Earth Works each sold over a million copies worldwide. But recently he has written much more for adults.

Many of his books focus on popular science, and in particular earth science, nature, and environmental issues. His Practical Encyclopedia of Rocks and Mineral is widely used as a reference work by geologists, while The Atlas of Oceans, his big book on endangered life in the oceans for Yale in the USA (A&C Black in the UK and Australian Geographic in Australia), garnered glowing reports prepublication from major figures such as the Cousteaus, Carl Safina, Nancy Knowlton and Harm de Blij.

But he has covered a wide range of topics, from contemporary China to the food market. The history of ideas and intellectual curiosity is a particular speciality.

In 2010, his book for Icon Do You Think You're Clever? was a best-seller, reaching the top 20 on Amazon and the top 10 in South Africa and Turkey, and was shortlisted for the Society of Authors Education Award. The follow-up The World’s Greatest Idea was selected as one of the top 50 Wish List books of the year in South Africa.

He has been interviewed extensively on radio and TV stations around the world, and conducted talks, demonstrations and displays at many events, from the Brighton Science Festival to the Oxford Literary Festival.

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5 stars
103 (11%)
4 stars
240 (26%)
3 stars
389 (42%)
2 stars
156 (16%)
1 star
33 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
Profile Image for Kim.
444 reviews181 followers
February 17, 2012
If this is what clever is then I guess I don't want to be clever. The questions proposed are interesting and could lead to an assortment of answers but in the majority of them the author ended up in a philosophical rant. Sometimes the answers were interesting and educational but mostly they were boring and predictable.

The point of the Oxbridge questions, as mentioned at the start of the book, are to provoke responses from people by putting them out of their normal frame of mind and gaining an insight into how they think. I would have much rather read good, and maybe some not so good, real responses given by people actually applying. Not answers from someone who's been able to sit and think and research each question before writing an answer.

An ok book that could have been much better. Thankfully I got it for cheap.
Profile Image for Elle.
54 reviews7 followers
January 19, 2012
I'm a sucker for logical problems, especially from the areas of physics, math and philosophy.

The author promised to offer "outside-the-box" ways of thinking about (though not neccessarily solving) famous Oxbridge interview questions such as "What happens when I drop an ant" or "If there was an omnipotent God, would he be able to create a stone that he couldn't lift?".

Although some (but disappointingly few) questions are actually answered, such as "how many times you would have to fold a paper for it to reach the moon", most of the problems posed are discussed in a very predictive manner - usually more from historical context than logic reasoning. While it can be entertaining to hear what this or that Greek philosopher had to say on the subject, it's not what I expect or want from this kind of book. So for some "outside-the-box" thinking, you should maybe try a box that doesn't contain this book ;)
Profile Image for Truffli.
11 reviews
August 11, 2018
I almost gave this book 4 stars. Almost. But the title translation ticked me off so much, it lost a star for that reason alone.

In english, the book is titled “Do you think you’re clever?”, a very neutral tone if I’ve ever seen one. However, in the Romanian version, the title sounds something along the lines of “Wow, glad to hear you’re the smart one...”. And while this may be just some psychological marketing gimmick on behalf of the local publisher, it is in very poor taste.

It is almost clickbait with a title like that. Because upon starting to read, you soon realize that it’s nowhere near as aggressive as it presented itself.
Sure, the author claimed to want to “make people think outside the box by giving outside the box answers to Cambridge and Oxford questions, ranging through all the domains”. But all he did was answer the questions as anyone with the internet at their fingertips would. He created a bit of a discussion in some cases, where the vague question allowed so. But other than that, the questions, although vague, were restricted by the domain they came from, within which you are required to stay in.

All in all, it would be just mean of me to give it less than 3 stars, because while it failed to deliver what it promised, I did learn some information from this book.
Profile Image for Kerem Abuc.
25 reviews2 followers
April 28, 2020
Düşündüren sorular, derin konulara sığ girişler. Kitap bir şey öğrenmenizi sağlamaz ama araştırmaya başlatır.
Profile Image for Richard.
165 reviews2 followers
October 11, 2014
This book is built on a simple premise. Oxford and Cambridge Universities in the UK are notorious for asking seemingly odd questions in candidate interviews. Many of these are loosely related to the field of study, but some are very off-beat.

This book collects some of these questions, and John Farndon gives his own particular answers. Interestingly enough, John is clear that these answers aren't definitive, and even if he were to re-answer them on another day he would, in all likelihood answer quite differently.

As can be seen from the number of shelves I've categorised this book under, the range of questions is enormous, but always entertaining. Most of the answers are quite light in tone, but there is one entry at the end which discusses poverty. The reply highlights the fact that the G8 governments promised to give money to relieve poverty in Africa. Only the UK kept to its promises, and three countries failed utterly to make any payment.

And while these are hard economic times, the figures that show that the amount promised to Africa was only 5% of the US military spending. This was then compounded by facts and figures showing the relative cost of relieving worldwide poverty against the sums spent on the 2008-9 banking crisis.
Profile Image for DoctorM.
842 reviews2 followers
May 4, 2012
Delightful little collection of questions asked by Oxford and Cambridge examiners--- questions designed at Oxbridge to do exactly what the Zen roshi does in hitting the novice with a stick. Unsettling and seemingly trivial or silly queries that have a wickedly dangerous depth to them. Question, yes, plus some answers and alternatives.

Best Q & A, now--- Clement Freud was asked by examiners how he'd use a barometer to determine the height of a tower. His answer--- give the barometer to the architect as a bribe and have him just read the height off the plans. And that is clear and incisve thinking--- just what Oxford and Cambridge have instilled in their graduates down all the decades.
Profile Image for Lizzie.
26 reviews1 follower
September 10, 2015
„Importantă nu este cunoaşterea şi nici educaţia, ci capacitatea de a-ţi plia şi extinde gândirea în cele mai variate şi mai ciudate moduri; fiindcă nu există obstacol mai mare în calea deşteptăciunii decât argonaţa şi sentimentul autosuficienţei”.

Profile Image for Andra.
87 reviews17 followers
October 2, 2020
Cartea conține o serie de întrebări întâlnite la examenul de admitere de la Cambridge. Autorul nu a dat răspunsuri corecte sau exacte, ci mai mult o părere strict bazată pe cunoștintele sale, lăsându-ți loc de gândire si dezbatere.
Profile Image for Amina .
226 reviews14 followers
May 30, 2011
Awesome man! Very interesting answers to insanely cool questions
Profile Image for Ali.
153 reviews2 followers
October 31, 2020
4.5

Hayatımda şimdiye kadar okuduğumda beni en çok düşündüren kitap bu. Kitabı tek kelime ile ufuk açıcı olarak tanımlayabilirim. O kadar çok ve farklı konuya birden fazla açıdan bakarak değindi ki her soruya verdiği 2-3 sayfalık cevaplarla o konuyu her yönünden kavradığınıza ve en iyi şekilde araştırıldığına emin olduğunuz bir doygunluk hissi ile bitiriyorsunuz cümleyi. Müthiş öğretici ve bariz düşündürücü olmasının yanında çokta güzel bir dille yazılmıştı. Yazarın son söz diye nitelendirilecek sözleri bile eğlenceli ve bilgilendiriciydi. Keşke tanıyıp sohbet etsem bile diye düşündüm yazarla :) . Tek sıkıntı bazı konularda insanın kelime dağarcığı konuyu tam anlamaya yetmeyebiliyor bu yüzden cümleler uzun ya da anlaşılmaz gibi gelebiliyor ama bunu çözmekte bir aramaya bakar. Birde biraz uzun sürdü bitirmem nedeni belki de çok fazla bilgi içerdiği için insanın arada bir dinlenmeye gerek duymasıdır

Sonuç olarak iyiki okumuşum dediğim ve herkesin okumasını umduğum bir kitap, serinin diğer kitabını da okuyacağım.
Profile Image for Stephen.
1,229 reviews19 followers
October 24, 2019
The Oxbridge undergraduate interviews ask oblique questions that candidates must answer intelligently to demonstrate their suitability for entrance. These can be things like “What is Courage” or “How would you measure the weight of your head” or “what would happen if the Classics department burned down”. This book brings together a rich variety of such questions and gives suitable answers to each.

This is not a book I would have bought, to be honest. It came free with something or other, and I have just got around to reading it. Still it is very interesting - enough so that I would borrow the sequel from the library. but I don’t think I would pay the 8.99 price on Amazon. Good, interesting stuff.
Profile Image for Nuttawat Kalapat.
686 reviews47 followers
March 25, 2021
เล่มนี้สนุกน้อยกว่าที่คิดครับ
มันก็สนุกดี ที่เราได้อ่านแล้วลองตอบ บางก็ที่ตอบได้ก็จะรู้สึกดีหน่อย
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คุณคิดว่าตัวเองฉลาดไหม : Do You Think You're Clever?
สารพัดคำถามสุดหินที่ใช้คัดคนเข้าเรียนที่ "ออกซ์ฟอร์ด" และ "เคมบริดจ์" คุณจะได้เรียนรู้ว่า สุดยอด "หัวกะทิ" มีวิธีคิดและตอบคำถามอย่างไร และสามารถนำไปใช้กับตัวคุณเองเมื่อเจอกับคำถามที่เหนือความคาดหมาย!
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มันก็สนุกดีที่ได้รู้คำถามที่ไว้ถามคนเข้ามหาลัยของทั่วโลกแบบนี้
บางคำถามก้ไม่ยบาก บางคำถามมันก็ยากเกิน +555
บางคำถามข้ามไปเรื่องศีลธรรมก็มี
บางคำถามก็ ตอบได้หลายแบบ
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คำถามประเภท
ในโลกนี้มีทรายกี่เม็ด คุณต้องพับกระดาษกี่ทบจึงจะสูงถึงดวงจันทร์ จะเกิดอะไรขึ้นถ้าเราทำมดตกพื้น มันยังพอคำนวณ พอจะเดาๆ ให้ใกล้เคียงได้จากพื้นที่ หรือการกะประมาณใช่ไหมครับ แต่มันมีคำถามที่ยากกว่านี้
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อย่างว่าคำตอบในเล่มผู้เขียนตอบเอง และ เขามีเวลาทำการบ้าน มีเวลาคิดที่จะเขียน���อบ
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ผมก้เลยอ่านฆ่าเวลา แบบผ่านๆไป และกลัวมากถ้าไปสมัครงานแล้วเจอถามยากงี้ 55
6/10
Profile Image for Stephen Hickman.
Author 8 books5 followers
January 4, 2018
How do you think? Do you turn to ritual or rote responses when faced with existential questions? Are you really thinking another's thoughts? Are you nimble, quick, and daring? Or ponderous and dim witted? Perhaps you are not widely read, but does that make you the fool? This book allows you to explore responses you may not have thought of to some of the biggest questions, and to ponder whether Hamlet is simply too long at four hours.
I was pleased that my method of weighing my head matched the authors, though after reading his book I am satisfied his must weigh a great deal more than mine.
Profile Image for Fatih.
624 reviews36 followers
May 19, 2018
En nefret ettiğim şeylerden biri kandırılmak. Kitap girişinde size beyin fırtınası vadediyor, bitişinde de umarım başarılı olmuşumdur diyor. Gerçekten enteresan. Direk fikrimi söyleyeyim tam bir zaman israfı. "Bırakın dağınık dursun"dan sonra bilimsel bir kitap ufuk açıcı bilgi edinirim diye NTV yayınları logosuna kanarak aldım boşuna para harcamış oldum.Birkaç istisna dışında teoloji ağırlıklı arafta kalınan konuları yazarın kendi görüşünden değerlendirdiği bir kitap. Tartışma havasında ama özellikle hep sonuca varılamayacak konular, çoğu da bilimse tabanlı değil.
Profile Image for Danniel Jeremy.
21 reviews
July 10, 2020
To put it short, this book is about tackling “clever” questions, and the author provides his insights on each question. To be honest, this book from the start was honestly frustrating, since the answer he points out is debatable and you may not share the same opinion. But that’s what makes this book stands out too, is that it makes you think as well. It provokes you to consider how you would answer the questions given in this book. His points on several questions were really engaging as well and provided interesting facts and points that you may not originally have thought of. 6.5/10
18 reviews
August 23, 2020
So, you think you're clever?

The premise of this book is simple. It is a collection of thought-provoking questions that were asked in previous Oxbridge interviews and their respective answers.
In the book, the questions are definitely interesting, but the answers are often shallow and simplistic. I think the book could have delved deeper on the answering beyond the surface. But it was a good read nonetheless because the questions were engaging and made the reader think.
Profile Image for Soichiro Saeki.
11 reviews3 followers
September 14, 2018
文庫本で本書を入手された方はまず解説から読むことを勧めたい。
これらに問いをどのような出題意図をもって出題しているのかを考えて行くと、とても奥深く感じる。「受験生と面接官との議論」を目的としている出題は、そのような意味ではあまり知識にバックアップされた解答を求めていないのではないかと思う。
本書の筆者は、それぞれの問いへのリサーチを十二分に行うことができ、また編集者というダブルチェック体制をしいた上でそれぞれの問いへの回答が可能だ。受験とは程遠い環境の中で、その前提が異なる中で書かれた書籍としての物足りなさを感じた次第であった。
しかし、良い議論を巻き起こすためのテーマ本としては逸材であることは間違いない。
3 reviews
August 17, 2019
He said it all.

"The questions proposed are interesting and could lead to an assortment of answers but in the majority of them the author ended up in a philosophical rant."
"The point of the Oxbridge questions, as mentioned at the start of the book, are to provoke responses from people by putting them out of their normal frame of mind and gaining an insight into how they think."
600 reviews
December 17, 2020
“In brief, all things are artificial; for nature is the art of God.”

-p.203 from chapter Is Nature Natural

I’ve had this book since 2012 and I’ve finally finished it! Honestly, some if not most of the answers were overly philosophical and for how thought provoking the questions should have been, the answers weren’t too engaging / memorable.

Profile Image for benMartin Walker.
70 reviews2 followers
February 16, 2021
This type of book generally contains superficial ideas. But this book handles very good questions from Cambridge and Oxford, and what is more, answers are given by a deep knowledge and overthinking about the topic. Mostly they were replied to in a good way. Also, the writer has awards that indicate his success in scientific book writing.
Profile Image for Firat Fidan.
263 reviews7 followers
September 25, 2022
Cambridge Üniversitesi ve Oxford Üniversitesi mülakat sorularından derlenmiş, ilginç soruların olduğu değişik bir kitap. Benim gibi zeka yıpratan soruları seviyorsanız okuyun derim ama ilginizi çekmiyorsa zaman kaybı olur.
8 reviews
June 18, 2017
If I had read this book when I was in my twenties, it would have been much more interesting.
Profile Image for Andra.
376 reviews20 followers
November 29, 2017
I loved this book. It has So many interesting questions that challenged the way I see the world. Definitely gonna use some of them for my blog. Best leisure reading for the curious minds!
Profile Image for Jamie.
100 reviews
July 1, 2019
This book gave me answers to some of the questions that I had and there are very interesting facts and information in this book.
Profile Image for Lauryn.
124 reviews
Read
December 31, 2019
another "didn't actually finish this I just want a slightly better Goodreads challenge %" this one's been on my currently reading for like 3 years so I'm backdating it.
Profile Image for Pompski.
113 reviews2 followers
May 28, 2020
Not too bad but certainly no grand revelation either. Thought provoking at best, sometimes a bit flat. Overall entertaining enough for just in between.
A bit of a “toilet read” to be honest.
4 reviews
June 7, 2020
Bir yerden sonra çok monotonlaşıyor. İlgimi çeken sorulara yöneldim fakat onlardan da çok keyif alamadım.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews

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