I didn't say that any given person was a liar or cheat. It seems clear to me that some significant fraction of the interviewing population is and I cannot tell

I didn't say that any given person was a liar or cheat. It seems clear to me that some significant fraction of the interviewing population is and I cannot tell the difference just by looking at you. So I must do something to weed out the liars and cheats from you. I prefer to do something objectively testable and easy enough that most programmers worth hiring should excel at it. I also do what I can to reduce stress, I explain that I am human and make mistakes too. I explain that would prefer a two way dialog to a battery of questions. I also try to explain that I think requirements always have some vagueness and sometimes need clarification. I am curious why I should be lenient on someone unable to seek clarification on requirements? Would you want want to work with someone who couldn't seek help on requirements? I have seen that person and at the beginning of my career I was briefly that person, it is not productive and can a sink project if that person is trusted too much.