The large portfolio comes with a large list of references. I could also show them the code for every project. I've never been asked to produce either of those

The large portfolio comes with a large list of references. I could also show them the code for every project. I've never been asked to produce either of those in an interview. No one has ever looked at my github account either. I never said I don't want to learn new things. Quite the contrary. I stay up to date on the latest web tech and have been frequently contracted for that exact expertise. However, I do find it frustratingly annoying that I need to learn a multitude of "interview puzzles" that I'll never use in real life.