I've never met a programmer who can't sum 10 numbers without using Google. I have however met plenty who go blank when asked a question they weren't prepared fo

I've never met a programmer who can't sum 10 numbers without using Google. I have however met plenty who go blank when asked a question they weren't prepared for in front of an intimidating person in a small quiet room during an interview. Not everyone has performance anxiety, but I've met plenty of programmers who do. Unless you spend the first 15 minutes of your interview calming them down and warming them up with simple technical questions that put them in the mode of programming, you might as well be asking them to sing the star spangled banner naked in front of an audience.