William Poundstone studied physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the author of The Recursive Universe, about information theory and physics, and Labyrinths of Reason, an exploration of paradox in science. The author of such popular books as Big Secrets, The Ultimate, and Prisoner’s Dilemma, he has also written for Esquire, Harper’s Magazine, SPY, and other periodicals. Poundstone lives in Los Angeles.