obviously, judging people by surface characteristics is stupid. to some extent, we can't help it... but I think that a good interviewer has learned to look pas

obviously, judging people by surface characteristics is stupid. to some extent, we can't help it... but I think that a good interviewer has learned to look past his or her biases. There are better ways to figure out if a technical person knows what they are doing than looking at their surface characteristics. (really, I think getting some idea of a candidates actual skill is easier to do in a technical interview than when, say, interviewing a manager type. Of course, this might just be a result of where my experience lies.) I was just trying to explain why the surface characteristic of wearing a suit and generally looking good is sometimes seen as a negative in the computer industry, even though it is a positive characteristic elsewhere.