> Many more people know how to invert a binary tree than know how to go from an empty text file to a non-trivial mobile app distributed in an App Store. As som

> Many more people know how to invert a binary tree than know how to go from an empty text file to a non-trivial mobile app distributed in an App Store. As someone who can do both but values the latter skills much more, I wonder about what these “low level questions” actually optimize for selection at some companies. Part of me says that many companies want to select for willingness to “play the game” / conform rather than actually code deliverable product. In fact, being able to go from blank page to decent app in an app store might be considered a contra-indicator of a good applicant — easier for them to bail and do their own thing or be a hired gun. Most orgs I’ve seen need a relatively small percentage of their devs to be creators and builders, but a large percentage need to be good maintainers and tweakers of existing code. These are vastly different skill sets and personalities, imho. Thoughts on this? And what sort of company / department do you work at that needs/wants a lot kf true builders?