This is similar to what my advisor told me my PhD thesis defense would be; your committee would probe you until you got to the limit of your knowledge (generall

This is similar to what my advisor told me my PhD thesis defense would be; your committee would probe you until you got to the limit of your knowledge (generally in your domain but not specific to your exact topic) and only then could they test how well your reasoning abilities. I think this is a great evaluation technique but it was common practice in my PhD program that, as you started getting close-ish to your defense, you'd organize some practice sessions with your peers where you could recreate that kind of environment because being able to step beyond your knowledge, especially in front of a group of gatekeepers (your thesis committee or potential employer), while maintaining a professional level of composure is difficult! And most of us couldn't quite handle it well when we would practice with each other but after a few sessions we'd feel comfortable in that state, at which point the pass/fail is, in our opinion, much more reflective of your actual reasoning abilities. As an interview tactic, especially for juniors, it's an interesting idea and I'd be curious to know how well you think it works, but I think it would take most 90th percentile candidates 2 tries to really demonstrate the kind of critical thinking and reasoning skills that you're looking for.