The numbers are not the point. In some sense it's exactly to weed out those who cannot just say A or B and stop at "well if you look at it like this then A, but

The numbers are not the point. In some sense it's exactly to weed out those who cannot just say A or B and stop at "well if you look at it like this then A, but perhaps B...". It's 12%, and that's it. You signal that you care about making money for your boss, which, however we twist it, is the reason and hope behind every hire. Its a cultural thing. They fear ending up with a bunch of people who just want to have fun with elegant code and tech and polish some corner of the app for a esthetic satisfaction. They fear not even being able to communicate effectively about your role in the business. Being able to say 12% is much better than not even thinking of trying to estimate it. Theoretically, a nuanced view would be even better but there is a time and place to be nuanced and witty and thats not on the HR desk.