6 ms·

What an amazing ending! :)

by danbrooks 5y ago

ThePadawan 5y ago
I don't think I get the punchline. Could someone explain?
- cacois 5y ago
  You were supposed to expect them to fail his interview because he didn't give the "right" answer (manhole covers are round so they can't fall in the hole). Instead, he completely disagreed with the "right" answer, but did so in a way that was incredibly convincing. So, they decided his primary value was not in his intellect (leading him to a job in engineering), but in his ability to convince people of things (leading him to a job in marketing).
  - ThePadawan 5y ago
    I did follow the "intended" vs. "right" subtext right until the punchline. I also at no point got the impression that this fictional Feynman was very convincing, charming or anything like that. Just a bit of a talky wise-ass, really. Obviously he knows his stuff, but he's not direct enough to just say that outright, he tries to lord his intellect over the interviewer. So I really wasn't sure what the punchline ("let's hire you in marketing") was all about. Is the interviewer saying this guy is a bad engineer since he doesn't get to the point? That he's a good marketer because he can talk lots and lots of bullshit? Is the implication that being offered a position in marketing would be better than in engineering? It's definitely not what the candidate came in for, and the interviewer also doesn't mention if they would hire him for engineering, just for marketing.
    - QuercusMax 5y ago
      Yeah, it doesn't sound like the real Feynman at all to me. Where's the wit and charm?
    - jfengel 5y ago
      Just a bit of a talky wise-ass, really. That much, at least, actually sounds like Feynman. But for the most part, no, it didn't really sound much like him.
    - numpad0 5y ago
      Sounded like Stallman than Feynman tbh.
    - zem 5y ago
      yep, the joke was getting at the "talk lots and lots of bullshit" aspect. it's the engineer's stereotype of a marketing person. like, "hey, this guy won't cut it as an engineer - he couldn't even answer the manhole question. but he sure can spout bullshit with the best of them!"
13of40 5y ago
When I worked there in the early 2000's I had a friend of a friend whose fiancée graduated with a bachelor's degree in either CS or EE and applied for a developer position. Somehow, and I struggle to understand the mechanics of this because engineering was highly compartmentalized away from the "business" parts of the business, they managed to turn her down for an engineering role and got her a job in marketing. Also, the manhole cover question was considered déclassé as early as 1999. One that was still making the rounds was...let's see if I can remember this... You have a soda machine that has three buttons, Coke, Pepsi, and Random (Coke or Pepsi). You know that your trickster coworker has swapped all of the button labels, so none of them are correct. What's the optimal strategy for getting a Coke out of the machine?
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- cacois 5y ago
  That was actually fun to think through for a minute. Easy, but I can see how a young me nervous at an interview might have stumbled. Its why I hate those things. They aren't testing analytical or creative ability, they are testing grace under pressure - a quality I have found is gained through experience.
- csells 5y ago
  It depends on your definition of optimal. If you optimize for time, then pressing each button one at a time until a Coke comes out. Plus it doesn't take any brain cells so I can get back to coding quicker. : )
  - RHSeeger 5y ago
    You can also optimize for - The highest likelihood of getting your choice with a single pick - The least amount of money spent to guarantee getting your choice
    - goodcanadian 5y ago
      If you take as given, "none of them are correct," I think both of those optimisations still start with pressing Pepsi. It is either Coke or random, so you have about a 75% chance of getting what you want on the first press.

What an amazing ending! :)

ThePadawan 5y ago

I don't think I get the punchline. Could someone explain?

cacois 5y ago
You were supposed to expect them to fail his interview because he didn't give the "right" answer (manhole covers are round so they can't fall in the hole). Instead, he completely disagreed with the "right" answer, but did so in a way that was incredibly convincing. So, they decided his primary value was not in his intellect (leading him to a job in engineering), but in his ability to convince people of things (leading him to a job in marketing).
- ThePadawan 5y ago
  I did follow the "intended" vs. "right" subtext right until the punchline. I also at no point got the impression that this fictional Feynman was very convincing, charming or anything like that. Just a bit of a talky wise-ass, really. Obviously he knows his stuff, but he's not direct enough to just say that outright, he tries to lord his intellect over the interviewer. So I really wasn't sure what the punchline ("let's hire you in marketing") was all about. Is the interviewer saying this guy is a bad engineer since he doesn't get to the point? That he's a good marketer because he can talk lots and lots of bullshit? Is the implication that being offered a position in marketing would be better than in engineering? It's definitely not what the candidate came in for, and the interviewer also doesn't mention if they would hire him for engineering, just for marketing.
  - QuercusMax 5y ago
    Yeah, it doesn't sound like the real Feynman at all to me. Where's the wit and charm?
  - jfengel 5y ago
    Just a bit of a talky wise-ass, really. That much, at least, actually sounds like Feynman. But for the most part, no, it didn't really sound much like him.
  - numpad0 5y ago
    Sounded like Stallman than Feynman tbh.
  - zem 5y ago
    yep, the joke was getting at the "talk lots and lots of bullshit" aspect. it's the engineer's stereotype of a marketing person. like, "hey, this guy won't cut it as an engineer - he couldn't even answer the manhole question. but he sure can spout bullshit with the best of them!"

13of40 5y ago

When I worked there in the early 2000's I had a friend of a friend whose fiancée graduated with a bachelor's degree in either CS or EE and applied for a developer position. Somehow, and I struggle to understand the mechanics of this because engineering was highly compartmentalized away from the "business" parts of the business, they managed to turn her down for an engineering role and got her a job in marketing. Also, the manhole cover question was considered déclassé as early as 1999. One that was still making the rounds was...let's see if I can remember this... You have a soda machine that has three buttons, Coke, Pepsi, and Random (Coke or Pepsi). You know that your trickster coworker has swapped all of the button labels, so none of them are correct. What's the optimal strategy for getting a Coke out of the machine?

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
cacois 5y ago
That was actually fun to think through for a minute. Easy, but I can see how a young me nervous at an interview might have stumbled. Its why I hate those things. They aren't testing analytical or creative ability, they are testing grace under pressure - a quality I have found is gained through experience.
csells 5y ago
It depends on your definition of optimal. If you optimize for time, then pressing each button one at a time until a Coke comes out. Plus it doesn't take any brain cells so I can get back to coding quicker. : )
- RHSeeger 5y ago
  You can also optimize for - The highest likelihood of getting your choice with a single pick - The least amount of money spent to guarantee getting your choice
  - goodcanadian 5y ago
    If you take as given, "none of them are correct," I think both of those optimisations still start with pressing Pepsi. It is either Coke or random, so you have about a 75% chance of getting what you want on the first press.