Short answer, yes. They don't expect a perfect answer but do expect something better than brute force (with presumably higher expectations depending on the leve

Short answer, yes. They don't expect a perfect answer but do expect something better than brute force (with presumably higher expectations depending on the level role). The better the answer is optimized the more impressive. Another part of it is the interviewers want to see at least some thought process. So if you stall giving the answer away you show alleged thought process and an excellent solution allegedly come up with on the spot.