> like we are stuck in a cargo-cult mentality where we are just doing things because that’s what the big companies do, and if it works for them it must be what

> like we are stuck in a cargo-cult mentality where we are just doing things because that’s what the big companies do, and if it works for them it must be what we need to do. Absolutely. They do leet code -- we must as well. Google is laying people off -- so must we. Steve Jobs was an asshole, I also must be an asshole, that's how you grow a great company. > The question, which I’ve heard is a Facebook favorite, was “convert a decimal number to base negative 2”. Assuming I don't care as much about the the interview and am just practicing, I would have asked "so how often do you folks, convert numbers to base negative two?" > but fuck that question and just waiting for you to eventually arrive at the little trick to make it work. That sounds like a "coffin"-type problem as per https://arxiv.org/pdf/1110.1556 https://arxiv.org/pdf/1110.1556. You have to know the trick, or you might spin your wheels for 40 minutes.