tl;dr: sometimes algorithmic puzzle thinking comes in useful. I don't think anyone is debating that. You don't need to write an essay worth of anecdotes. And y

tl;dr: sometimes algorithmic puzzle thinking comes in useful. I don't think anyone is debating that. You don't need to write an essay worth of anecdotes. And your anecdotes don't really address the complaint: these algorithmic puzzles just don't present themselves at the majority of everyday work for the majority of everyday people. Not even at Google. Preparing for a Google interview is like preparing for an exam on an arbitrary subject that's only loosely related to your field of work. What this kind of interview actually tests for, is whether the candidate has the time and desire to do all the prep in the first place. It's heavily skewed towards younger individuals, especially recent graduates.