You're focusing too much on a particular phrase and not enough on the overall meaning. Read this again: > Instead, writing good software requires the ability t

You're focusing too much on a particular phrase and not enough on the overall meaning. Read this again: > Instead, writing good software requires the ability to maintain a system, to debug problems, and to give constructive code review. That's it. Code review is the best time to talk about data structures and algorithms as they are a time to apply theoretical knowledge to real world problems. Good, constructive code reviews are about education and maintaining a quality code base. Interview questions about data structures and algorithms rewards memorization and classroom knowledge. I've worked with way too many mediocre developers who are great at whiteboarding interview questions but who couldn't build a maintainable system if their lives depended on it. Consequently, I don't give a damn about a candidate's performance on these types of questions. Instead, I'd rather learn about some projects they've built, problems they've experienced and their experience with code reviews.