I think the key insight is that there are whole classes of problems where the answer your brain is likely to come up with by default is just flat out wrong. Tha

I think the key insight is that there are whole classes of problems where the answer your brain is likely to come up with by default is just flat out wrong. That way when you encounter them in real life you know to break out the mathematics, or sit down with pen and paper, rather than just blithely assuming the "obvious" answer is the right one. (The article has a long list of real life situations where you can run into this kind of thing in para 2.) Should we be using this as an interview selection mechanism? No, there are more useful and directly applicable ways to see how good they are at the job (and the article doesn't suggest it as an interview filter). Is the ability to solve brainteasers and puzzle questions useful in itself? No, it's pretty useless (and a lot of it is simply having seen the question before). Is knowing how the brain works and what its failure modes are (a) an worthwhile subject of scientific investigation and (b) potentially helpful at a personal level for avoiding mistakes? Yes and yes.