the point of the article is that that detail doesn't matter. short vs long might double the answer, but orders of magnitude are the only interesting answer. ho

the point of the article is that that detail doesn't matter. short vs long might double the answer, but orders of magnitude are the only interesting answer. however, I feel that the abstraction away from something connected to the job you're hiring for is more harmful than useful - definitely ask those questions, but don't phrase it in such outlandish and clearly designed-for-interviews formats. I've asked candidates to estimate the number of RSS feeds on the internet. I've found it a useful question which offers a lot of avenues of discussion and means to probe thought processes - and it's connected to my work.