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If you hate problem solving in general (as opposed to stupid puzzles), then there's a risk that you may not have an aptitude for debugging. When posed correctl

If you hate problem solving in general (as opposed to stupid puzzles), then there's a risk that you may not have an aptitude for debugging. When posed correctly, some interview problems can be a gauge of problem-solving ability and aptitude. The test of a puzzle problem's relevance is the extent to which it might expose a strength or weakness in real-world problem-solving. So stupid puzzles about, say, manhole cover shapes are obviously bogus. But there's some overlap between legitimate programming / debugging challenges that are small and self-contained enough to be useful in a 45 minute technical interview, and the set of problems that one might characterize as "puzzles".

vikiomega9 10y ago
I agree, but I'm wondering if you can give me an example and walk me through what check boxes you would look for in a self-contained example?
- pklausler 10y ago
  Given two closed intervals [a,b] and [c,d], write a simple predicate in any programming language that evaluates to TRUE if and only if the intervals overlap.
  - Joof 10y ago
    Match on interval [a, c] and [b, d]?
nraynaud 10y ago
frankly, it only becomes a puzzle when google failed me. On a side note I'm really looking forward to having questions about manhole covers in interviews, the interviewer might get a little more than what she bargained for on Reuleaux triangles and statics.
- kafkaesq 10y ago
  The interviewer might get a little more than what she bargained for on Reuleaux triangles and statics. But who has time or interest for pointless show-off-ery like that, even? It's 2016. The only answer you need to give to a questions of that sort is (with a mildly bemused expression): "You guys are still asking questions like that? ... I'm sorry, but this just isn't the right place for me."
ww520 10y ago
Why not just ask them directly what their memorable debugging session was? And have an in-depth discussion about that experience. Using puzzles is a round about way to guess whether the candidates are good at debugging or not, and it certainly is not an accurate way to gauge debugging ability.

vikiomega9 10y ago

I agree, but I'm wondering if you can give me an example and walk me through what check boxes you would look for in a self-contained example?

pklausler 10y ago
Given two closed intervals [a,b] and [c,d], write a simple predicate in any programming language that evaluates to TRUE if and only if the intervals overlap.
- Joof 10y ago
  Match on interval [a, c] and [b, d]?

nraynaud 10y ago

frankly, it only becomes a puzzle when google failed me. On a side note I'm really looking forward to having questions about manhole covers in interviews, the interviewer might get a little more than what she bargained for on Reuleaux triangles and statics.

kafkaesq 10y ago
The interviewer might get a little more than what she bargained for on Reuleaux triangles and statics. But who has time or interest for pointless show-off-ery like that, even? It's 2016. The only answer you need to give to a questions of that sort is (with a mildly bemused expression): "You guys are still asking questions like that? ... I'm sorry, but this just isn't the right place for me."

ww520 10y ago

Why not just ask them directly what their memorable debugging session was? And have an in-depth discussion about that experience. Using puzzles is a round about way to guess whether the candidates are good at debugging or not, and it certainly is not an accurate way to gauge debugging ability.