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I like what you are onto here. Algorithm questions get universally panned or praised quite often, but there is a good deal of nuance in fact. Some are much, muc
by hacknat 12y ago
I like what you are onto here. Algorithm questions get universally panned or praised quite often, but there is a good deal of nuance in fact. Some are much, much better than others. Some are pure trivia.
I don't think most of us would bat an eyelash at the idea that most engineers need to know that a hash table is a O(c) look up, but it is an algorithm question that I've seen people fail. Conversely, your examples of what is a poor question are probably accurate in most domains.
- SnowProblem 12y ago"that most engineers need to know that a hash table is O(c) lookup" O(1) is a leaky abstraction [1]. It's O(1) amortized assuming you have enough buckets and a good hashing algorithm that minimizes collisions. I think that distinction important to keep in your head, and good to mention/look for in interviews, since those details matter when things go awry. [1] http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/LeakyAbstractions.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/LeakyAbstractions.htm...
- RogerL 12y agoSo what if they fail? I had an programmer that didn't know that. I went to the whiteboard, explained it, and now she is perfectly competent at it (and the rest of her job). What's the problem? Where do we get the idea that if someone doesn't know some arbitrary fact that they are incapable of learning it? Hire people that are smart, have good work ethics, and play nicely with others, and everything else will take care of itself.
- richardjordan 12y agoThe last point is key, and overlooked by young insecure startup hirers too often. Hire smart people with good work ethics that play nice with others. Having built technical teams numbering in the dozens this is literally the ONLY strategy that delivers long term success in my experience. Unfortunately experience is discounted nowadays...