One of the most interesting interview question I was given is to estimate the number of cats in Singapore.
I was given time to think it over, and write my answer down on a piece of paper.
There are no right or wrong answers. It is meant to test one's creativity skills (or "smoking" skills).
I remembered that Singapore has a population of 4.2 million.
For simplicity, I assumed that all Singaporeans lived in flats.
Each flat has an average of 15 floors.
For every 5 floors, I assumed there is a houehold that kept 1 cat (guesstimate)
So there are 15/5 = 3 cats per block.
(1) Adding a 0.5 cat for stray cats loitering in void decks, we get 3.5 cats per block of flats.
From observations, each floor has an average of 8 units.
And each unit has 4 people living.
So that would equate to 8 x 4 = 32 people living per level per block.
(2) Which equates to 32 x 15 = 480 people living per block.
And that means for every 480 people, there are 3.5 cats.
And since I remembered that Singapore has approximately 4.2 million people (at that time of my interview), the number of cats will proportionately be about
4,200,000 / 480 x 3.5 = 30,625 cats.
That's the estimated number of cats in Singapore!
Anyone else have a different approach?
About the Author: Shingo T did manage to pass this round of interview, but didn't make it past the 3rd round of test.
8 comments:
I'm sure there are very few stray cats. The government of Singapore can't tolerate them.
I know there are a lot of stray cats in Singapore otherwise a fellow blogger would not have so kindly set up a cat shelter. The recession has resulted in more cats being dumped out. Sad actually.
Interesting interview question. Was that a contest you entered?
This is a really interesting question. If it was me, i would do more like racial segregation because i know more malay people would have cats then other pets.
That's really an interesting question! I'm not very fond of cats though : )
There are many cats in Singapore? As in stray cats? I have not heard anyone mentioning about that before. I bet Malaysia has more because there is no regulations on stray cats and dogs. Or is there?
Can you actually keep a cat when you are staying in a flat or HDB?I thought you need to have a landed property to own pets in SG.
HAHA.. love your calculation..
khengsiong:
Yes, I believe Singapore sterilises stray cats.
HappySurfer:
It was an actual job interview. I read it's a generic question to test people's creativity.
Roxy:
Reasonable approach.
foongpc:
I'm not a fan of cats too.
Ai Shiang:
From observation, Singapore has more stray cats. Malaysia has more stray dogs.
Cherish Tulips:
Not sure if a license is needed for home pets in flats, but I see many Singaporeans keep pets at home.
Dolly:
Haha, you mean you like the way I "smoke" my way through.
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