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I have to humbly disagree with you here. Estimation problems are quite important in science. When dealing with computers and algorithms, a quick back-of-the-env

by vlasev 11y ago

I have to humbly disagree with you here. Estimation problems are quite important in science. When dealing with computers and algorithms, a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation can illuminate a lot of things. Maybe your algorithm is running slowly but a quick calculation shows it needs to be orders of magnitude faster. Etc. It's by no means a super necessary skill to have though. And certainly it makes for a rather silly interview question. I would guess it takes no more than half an hour to an hour to train yourself to do estimation problems.

jacquesm 11y ago
Of course they are important in science. But that's not the kind of problem that you're likely to be hiring this particular (presumably a programmer) for. And if it is then estimation problems are exactly what you should be doing but if they are not then it would be a lot better to pick something related to the work at hand.