> The key idea here is to propose a task you know to be extremely difficult but possible and then measure the candidate’s reaction. If they are defeatist (“That

> The key idea here is to propose a task you know to be extremely difficult but possible and then measure the candidate’s reaction. If they are defeatist (“That can’t be done!“) or deluded (“I’d code that in a weekend“), then that’s what you’d be hiring. Oh man, I'm saving this because this has been my experience working with folks on the business side who seem to always optimize for the second group (the deluded gives a low quote, then the project drags on forever, spiraling out of control because they didn't think through the difficulty).