I think the attitude of a lot of companies, especially the ones hiring fresh grads, is that the ability to think is more important than the ability to code (the

I think the attitude of a lot of companies, especially the ones hiring fresh grads, is that the ability to think is more important than the ability to code (the latter of which can be taught far more easily than the former). I don't mean to imply that you are unable to think, of course - the puzzles are surely an imperfect heuristic - but that's my understanding of their aim.