Google has a lot of good people, but in my experience the interviews are specifically looking for a particular bias -- not just knowledgeable and personable peo

Google has a lot of good people, but in my experience the interviews are specifically looking for a particular bias -- not just knowledgeable and personable people but specifically people who think a certain way. I had an interview there recently in NYC. I solved the guy's puzzle too quickly and I think that he thought that I'd prepped (I hadn't). Then we got started on a different problem and I tried to explain how it was a good example of "boolean blindness" and that using a specific form of dependent type was an ideal solution. He looked at me like I had two heads and smugly told me that it's impractical to solve problems this way (but it's a bog-standard type checking problem). So yes, smart people, but you should know the bias that they have before you decide that you want to work there. It could very well be bad for your career if you _do_ get in.