Yes, the stated question is about one specific individual. But unlike most of the answers posted so far, "RcouF1uZ4gsC"'s answer acknowledges that there are peo

Yes, the stated question is about one specific individual. But unlike most of the answers posted so far, "RcouF1uZ4gsC"'s answer acknowledges that there are people for whom, yes, it might be a red flag. As opposed to your answer above, which states "strange enough to think that something like this matters," implying there is absolutely nobody that might raise a concern. As I mentioned, if the interviewer never heard of Linus Torvalds or Bill Gates, would you really say "it doesn't matter?" If yes, then I kind of wonder about your judgment a little bit. If no, then the question could be re-worded as, "Is Joel Spolsky sufficiently famous or influential among professional software engineers that you'd hesitate before working for someone who had never heard of him," which is a more nuanced question, as it asks the respondent to place him along some spectrum and to determine where the cutoff point is.