What is guesstimation?

The process of solving "impossible" problems

Part of the Guesstimation series
Sat, Oct 2, 2021

Hi there and welcome to the first of a series of posts on guesstimation.

In this series, I’ll show you how not to stress about big, impossible sounding problems, like “how many people are picking their nose right now?”. The secret is in approximations, not exact answers. You’ll be amazed at what you can understand when precision takes a back seat.

This is more than just physics – it’s about understanding facts, decoding news, and sharpening your critical thinking. No matter your experience level, guesstimation can crack open even the most complex problems.

In this first video, I’ll introduce you to the world of guesstimation, give you a sneak peek into my morning guesstimation routine, and share a handy flashcard app, “flashee,” that I created to help build your mental wiki and supercharge your guesstimation skills.

I hope you learn to love guesstimation as much as I do. All you need is some basic math skills and a bit of general knowledge to start seeing the world in a whole new way.