The good news is there are plenty of shops that don't ask these types of questions in interviews. Most of the companies you mention have a technical reputation

The good news is there are plenty of shops that don't ask these types of questions in interviews. Most of the companies you mention have a technical reputation as being elite, and as you say they can hire or interview as they please. Everybody can't work for Google, and there may be some that could work for Google if they were better at interviewing the way Google does (and these other companies do). The author harbors some hostility towards the recruiters that have landed him these interviews. I'm a recruiter, and I too harbor some hostility towards recruiters when they behave badly. The recruiters in all of these situations seem to have done the author a service, and there are no explanations of the recruiters behaving badly (other than the going silent/no feedback scenario). Telling recruiters to "F* OFF" is just blaming the messenger. They didn't design the interviews, they didn't conduct the technical interviews being complained about, and they didn't make the decision not to hire. They simply facilitated the process and relayed the message. Blame recruiters when they behave badly. Lying about salary ranges, 'bait and switch' jobs, etc. Don't blame them when they do their jobs, just because you didn't like the outcome.