I always tell candidates "I am multi-lingual, feel free to answer in any language you want, with bonus points for Lisp or Scheme." So far no one has taken me u

I always tell candidates "I am multi-lingual, feel free to answer in any language you want, with bonus points for Lisp or Scheme." So far no one has taken me up on the latter option. :( Everyone ends up coding in straight C, rather annoying really. I'd kill for someone to pull out Python or some other language more suited to the problem. All that said, straight Java is also likely a horrible choice. Boilerplate code sucks. If the interviewer allows it (and some are super strict about these things...) ask if it is OK to mix and match syntax. If someone wants to pull in C# lambda syntax along with making up their own multi-valued return syntax, fine. Some problems are about demonstrating language mastery (especially for some positions!), other problems are about determining candidate problem solving abilities. For general problem solving ability questions, I'd prefer the candidate demonstrate the ability to think outside the bounds of any one language!