> Are you literally demanding the candidate spit out the optimal answer immediately? I think the author of the article is indicting situations where this is t

> Are you literally demanding the candidate spit out the optimal answer immediately? I think the author of the article is indicting situations where this is the case. Perhaps he could have been more explicit up front, but reading between the lines this is the situation he's complaining about. > If not, can they solve it with a naive method and then make reasonable attempts to iterate on that, even if they never hit an optimal solution? If I were asking the question, absolutely. > It is a little like a high end restaurant asking a trainee chef to make an omelette, which is apparently common in the culinary industry. Are there omlettes that are "optimal" (very awesome in some sense)? I honestly don't know (and if so, man, I want one!)