That was a good write up, and it will help people. I come from the self taught side, and find that it is critical to know these things when you work in certain

That was a good write up, and it will help people. I come from the self taught side, and find that it is critical to know these things when you work in certain areas of a code base and once you reach a certain level. But I don't expect everyone needs to have the same level of understanding. I also find interviewers asking detailed questions about Big O and specific different algorithms just idiotic, especially the esoteric ones I've been asked in the past and/or heard asked. When I interview someone, all I want to know is that you know there is a difference and know to look when it matters. My method for learning if a candidate understands this all is to get people to choose data structures based upon different problem sets I will give them and then ask the pros and cons. The more questions they ask about usage usually the more they understand in my experience. And this is just way more informative as a hiring manager as you will learn more if they understand what they are saying, versus if they can regurgitate something they memorized from a book or website.