• GodIsABuddhist (unregistered) in reply to Aaron

    The lip on the manhole is irrelevant. A circle cannot fall in on itself because the diameter is the same and it traps the lid halfway. As opposed to a rhomboid/square/rectangular object that can fall in on the diagonal.

  • (cs) in reply to GodIsABuddhist
    GodIsABuddhist:
    The lip on the manhole is irrelevant. A circle cannot fall in on itself because the diameter is the same and it traps the lid halfway. As opposed to a rhomboid/square/rectangular object that can fall in on the diagonal.
    Actually, what's irrelevant is all that stuff you just said. A circle that can't fall in on itself can't be pulled up out of itself, either. That's why manhole covers are slightly smaller than the manholes they cover. And that's why the lip is relevant.
  • The Gnome (unregistered)

    I interviewed at Microsoft once, where they asked me, "How many Christmas trees were sold last year?" I replied, "2x." When the interviewer asked me what x was, I replied, "The number of bugs in Windows XP."

    Needless to say, I didn't get the job.

  • (cs) in reply to Anon
    Anon:
    uptaphunk:
    I was interviewed back in 2001 at Microsoft at Redmond Campus.

    ....

    I turned it down. Through the interview I found it was a horrible death march project that no sane person would take - the development person left, it was 4 months behind, there were 6 months of work left and it was due in 5 months.

    They wanted you to work on Vista?

    Actually it was a some sort of Microsoft Portal initiative - I think a precursor to MS Live. I wasn't given enough details about the deliverable to know for sure, but after hearing about the deadlines I decided to take a higher paying job for a different company which I stayed at for 6 years.

  • Steve (unregistered) in reply to Rich
    Rich:
    Aaron:
    I imagined LED light bulbs
    LEDs cannot reasonably be described as "bulbs".
    Actually, they can. My SO works for a company which sells them and we have them all over the house. Though, to be absolutely pedantic, and why not, this is The Daily WTF, after all, I've been told they're called "lamps", not bulbs, whether incandescent, CFL, or LED.

    BTW, I heartily recommend the LED lamps, not just because my SO sells them but because they have a longer life and use less electricity than CFLs, and don't have any hazmat problems in disposal (CFLs contain mercury and must be disposed of properly). Expensive as all Hades, I admit, though.

  • sinfield (unregistered) in reply to akatherder

    Uhh ... That's not funny! My brother died that way!

  • Brent Seidel (unregistered) in reply to ThomsonsPier
    ThomsonsPier:
    fruey:
    1/ Boeing : Laden or unladen? Max takeoff or max landing? Or empty?
    African or European?

    It's American, of course. If it was European, it would be an Airbus. I'm not aware of any African airframers...

    Now swallows are a different story.

  • Stephen Bayer (unregistered) in reply to akatherder
    akatherder:
    How would you determine the weight of a Boeing 747?

    With a scale.

    Where are you going to find a scale that big!?

    Your mom's bathroom.

    SWEET ANSWER!

  • JHW_1974 (unregistered) in reply to Mog

    It is even easier then that...

    just open the box and flick the switches one at a time and see which bulb comes on.

  • Helix (unregistered) in reply to Yanman.be
    Yanman.be:
    The light bulbs thingy is easy:

    First light 1 switch for 5 minutse, so it gets warm. Turn it off Turn on the other one and open the box. First switch corresponsd to warm lightbulb. Second switch is the lit bulb. Third switch is the unlit bulb.

    They are LED lights - now what?

  • Ted (unregistered)

    Little-known fact: All large aircraft are in fact weighed regularly and have documentation of their exact weight. For large passenger or cargo aircraft, all installed aircraft equipment is recorded in a "Weight & Balance" book stored on the aircraft. No two airplanes weigh the same, especially when considering different equipment configurations. Every time a plane flies, the flight engineer or first officer (or possibly a dispatcher) computes the aircraft's weight and balance which is critical information for takeoff and landing performance considerations. It also endures the aircraft will 'balance' on its mean aerodynamic chord, i.e., not too much weight in the rear or in the front, but have a balanced load so the flight controls will control the aircraft.
    I believe an empty 747 weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of about 300,000 pounds, but like I say, they are weighed regularly (yes, they have scales made for large aircraft landing gear footprints). Add fuel and passengers/bags/cargo, and a 747 is a hefty jet. I do know that a DC-10 (only slightly smaller than a 747) is about 250,000 pounds empty, and can take about 340,000 pounds of combined fuel/passengers/cargo/stuff for a max takeoff weight of around 590,000 pounds. Last bit of trivia--a fresh coat of paint on a large aircraft adds several thousand pounds!

  • Joe Fumm (unregistered)

    I actually have a blind friend who rides bikes. They are sort of specially designed: they're Tandems.

  • (cs)

    So, this story ends by speculatively saying that the candidate "will not get the job." Can we get a followup on that? I, for one, would have hired him based on that comment alone.

  • (cs)

    Are there any constraints on how fast I can move? If I can toggle each of the switches and open the box fast enough, I'll actually be able to observe the results of my togglings.

  • Jiff Woods (unregistered)

    LOL, Nice dude, Excellent technique!

    Jiff www.anonymize.us.tc

  • (cs)

    Actually the shape of the manhole cover doesn't matter at all. Even a square cover can't fall into the manhole, if the manhole is a circle.

  • (cs) in reply to vt_mruhlin
    vt_mruhlin:
    Are there any constraints on how fast I can move? If I can toggle each of the switches and open the box fast enough, I'll actually be able to observe the results of my togglings.

    You can only move as fast as you can in this reality. so if you think you can flip the switch and open the box fast enough at the same time then that is how fast you can move. There are no "you're in a vacuum" or "you have superhuman speed" or any bullshit like that.

  • (cs) in reply to B92
    B92:
    Flagger:
    Bot:
    I always include riddles in my interviews. The point is not to find someone who can solve riddles, the point is to find someone who can think through problems, explain what they're thinking, and ask for help when they need it. I'm looking for someone who will think about the question for awhile, explain what they're stumped on, respond well to hints, and eventually understand how to get to the answer. People who fail are those that don't try at all, refuse to explain their thought process, or give up.
    Why don't you ask him an actual problem, then?

    In my case, it is an "actual problem" but totally irrelevant to the job. In addition to Bot's points, it helps them to be pushed way outside their comfort zone and see how they react. That's what I do daily, so it's a valid test. If I ask a network engineer "We're opening Amazon.com, how much bandwith do we need?" I'm likely to get some dissertation on TCP/IP networking. If I ask "How much jet fuel does it take to fly from NY to LA?", I get to surprise them, push them outside the comfort zone, and evaluate how they do on all of Bot's criteria. Neither the question nor the answer matter (I just made that one up), but the approach is everything.

    If your job routinely pushes you out of your comfort zone, you need a new job. The economy is kind of bad right now, but it's still easier to change jobs than it is to change comfort zones.

    And if you "enjoy being pushed out of your comfort zone", then you by definition haven't actually been pushed out of it.

  • (cs) in reply to DangerMouse9
    DangerMouse9:
    vt_mruhlin:
    Are there any constraints on how fast I can move? If I can toggle each of the switches and open the box fast enough, I'll actually be able to observe the results of my togglings.

    You can only move as fast as you can in this reality. so if you think you can flip the switch and open the box fast enough at the same time then that is how fast you can move. There are no "you're in a vacuum" or "you have superhuman speed" or any bullshit like that.

    Sure, that's how fast I can move, but what if I put the box in a different reality?

    See, if the interviewer can come up with infinite ridiculous questions, I can come up with infinite ridiculous answers.

  • (cs)

    I see a lot of people fiddling with semantics to these questions but what the important aspect of the question in the first place is the reaction the interviewee has to the problem - not necessarily the correct or "best" answer (if there is one).

    Someone who explodes and leaves the room flipping you or someone who starts hyperventilating and pulling their hair out is precisely the type of person you DO NOT want working for you.

  • Franz Kafka (unregistered) in reply to uptaphunk
    uptaphunk:
    I see a lot of people fiddling with semantics to these questions but what the important aspect of the question in the first place is the reaction the interviewee has to the problem - not necessarily the correct or "best" answer (if there is one).

    Someone who explodes and leaves the room flipping you or someone who starts hyperventilating and pulling their hair out is precisely the type of person you DO NOT want working for you.

    Or, more to the point, they are the type of person that doesn't want to work for you.

  • (cs) in reply to Franz Kafka
    Franz Kafka:
    uptaphunk:
    I see a lot of people fiddling with semantics to these questions but what the important aspect of the question in the first place is the reaction the interviewee has to the problem - not necessarily the correct or "best" answer (if there is one).

    Someone who explodes and leaves the room flipping you or someone who starts hyperventilating and pulling their hair out is precisely the type of person you DO NOT want working for you.

    Or, more to the point, they are the type of person that doesn't want to work for you.

    Yes, I suppose so - but it serves as a quick indicator to someones mental state in times of stress.

    I seriously doubt that you would want someone who cannot handle a (possibly) unsolvable problem with acts of aggression and/or being on the verge of nervous breakdown would you?

  • Guillermo (unregistered)

    Didn't anyone tell them not to trust any Microsoft product until at least version 3?

  • LKM (unregistered) in reply to B92

    So basically, you're telling me that you don't hire people who are capable of saying "no" to you. Good luck with that.

    I don't ask idiotic brainteasers during interviews. I agree that it's useful to push people a bit and see how they react under pressure, but I do that using questions which are actually relevant to the job the person is applying for.

  • Franz Kafka (unregistered) in reply to uptaphunk
    uptaphunk:
    Yes, I suppose so - but it serves as a quick indicator to someones mental state in times of stress.

    I seriously doubt that you would want someone who cannot handle a (possibly) unsolvable problem with acts of aggression and/or being on the verge of nervous breakdown would you?

    I didn't see that much of that, just embellished forms of "I'd end the interview". Hand me a hard problem that's relevant and I'll jump on it. Hand me some brain teaser and act like it's important and I'll be insulted.

  • Engywuck (unregistered) in reply to Ted

    well, 590,000 pounds being around 270 metric tons my "ranged" answer of "not lower than 50 tons, probably not higher than 500" would have been correct. Yay!

  • (cs)

    I interviewed at Microsoft, but when the interview ended, I told them I didn't want the job, but I probably would have been offered the job. It was obvious that Microsoft thought they already knew everything about software development, and they thought they had no need for someone like me who would bring many best practices to the organization. I would say the kinds of applications I work on now are several times more complex than Windows Vista in terms of how many forms and VB classes are in a single solution.

  • Franz Kafka (unregistered) in reply to TopCod3r
    TopCod3r:
    I interviewed at Microsoft, but when the interview ended, I told them I didn't want the job, but I probably would have been offered the job. It was obvious that Microsoft thought they already knew everything about software development, and they thought they had no need for someone like me who would bring many best practices to the organization. I would say the kinds of applications I work on now are several times more complex than Windows Vista in terms of how many forms and VB classes are in a single solution.

    I'm sorry, but you're wrong. More complex than Vista doesn't fit with VB at_all. Vista is arguably the largest single software product ever built (and a good example of why you should build smaller ones and package them together).

  • (cs) in reply to Franz Kafka
    Franz Kafka:
    uptaphunk:
    Yes, I suppose so - but it serves as a quick indicator to someones mental state in times of stress.

    I seriously doubt that you would want someone who cannot handle a (possibly) unsolvable problem with acts of aggression and/or being on the verge of nervous breakdown would you?

    I didn't see that much of that, just embellished forms of "I'd end the interview". Hand me a hard problem that's relevant and I'll jump on it. Hand me some brain teaser and act like it's important and I'll be insulted.

    I'm not condoning the use of the questions, I have been on the receiving end before. Instead of being insulted when asked, I saw the possible relevance of being asked it as it pertains to HOW I respond, not necessarily what I respond.

    It's a quick and easy way to put someone in a state of (albeit manufactured) stress to see how they respond. Having someone that can go postal over a silly question is a pretty good litmus test IMHO to filter out unstable people. As far as to the relevance to how skilled you are for the job, I think we all can dismiss that notion. How well you react to an uncomfortable situation is more the point here.

    It's much easier to come up with a brain teaser question than a fictitious stress scenario that has relevance to your job to see how you handle it (although that would be a good thing to add into the interview). Sometimes situations arise that are outside the job area of expertise that need to be handled - are you the right person to deal with it? Blowing up or throwing your hands up in exasperation are not great qualities of a level headed person that can diffuse or deal with situations outside the normal work day.

  • quibus was my captcha (unregistered)

    The bridge crossing riddle: 10 minutes

    You set the 10 min guy walking across the bridge with the 5 min guy. In 5 min, the 5 min guy is across, the 10 min guy is in the middle of the bridge with the flashlight. Then set the 2 min guy going. 2 minutes later he's across, 10 min guy is still on the bridge with the flashlight. Then send the 1 min guy, a minute later he's across and a minute after that the 10 min guy finishes. No more than two guys are on the bridge at any time, and the flashlight is on the bridge at all times.

  • (cs) in reply to TopCod3r
    TopCod3r:
    I interviewed at Microsoft, but when the interview ended, I told them I didn't want the job, but I probably would have been offered the job. It was obvious that Microsoft thought they already knew everything about software development, and they thought they had no need for someone like me who would bring many best practices to the organization. I would say the kinds of applications I work on now are several times more complex than Windows Vista in terms of how many forms and VB classes are in a single solution.

    Once again, I see tongue in cheek action here. VB? lol.

  • Chris S (unregistered) in reply to Mog
    Mog:
    Yanman.be:
    The light bulbs thingy is easy: 
    First light 1 switch for 5 minutse, so it gets warm.
Turn it off
Turn on the other one and open the box.
First switch corresponsd to warm lightbulb.
Second switch is the lit bulb.
Third switch is the unlit bulb.
    But now one of the bulbs is broken. What would you do?
    You're both assuming the switches are labeled on and off (or that such labels are correct).
  • AnonCoder (unregistered) in reply to B92

    If you are interested in how they "actually program" then present them a coding problem.

    If I was peppered with these type of questions in an interview, I would do my best to answer them in a professional manner. But by asking me these type of questions, you've shown me that you are a copycat .

    I wouldn't want to work for you.

  • Franz Kafka (unregistered) in reply to uptaphunk
    uptaphunk:
    I'm not condoning the use of the questions, I have been on the receiving end before. Instead of being insulted when asked, I saw the possible relevance of being asked it as it pertains to HOW I respond, not necessarily what I respond.

    It's a quick and easy way to put someone in a state of (albeit manufactured) stress to see how they respond. Having someone that can go postal over a silly question is a pretty good litmus test IMHO to filter out unstable people. As far as to the relevance to how skilled you are for the job, I think we all can dismiss that notion. How well you react to an uncomfortable situation is more the point here.

    It's much easier to come up with a brain teaser question than a fictitious stress scenario that has relevance to your job to see how you handle it (although that would be a good thing to add into the interview). Sometimes situations arise that are outside the job area of expertise that need to be handled - are you the right person to deal with it? Blowing up or throwing your hands up in exasperation are not great qualities of a level headed person that can diffuse or deal with situations outside the normal work day.

    This is all true, but brainteasers are old after the first couple of times, and make it feel like you're wasting my time. I don't like having my time wasted, as I only have so much, so real problems related to the job are much better and harder to study for besides. As a bonus, you can do design questions and then introduce scope creep, which is very much relevant to any dev job.

  • (cs) in reply to TopCod3r
    TopCod3r:
    I would say the kinds of applications I work on now are several times more complex than Windows Vista in terms of how many forms and VB classes are in a single solution.

    Dude, you're slipping. I'd give this only about 4.3/10.

  • Carrandas (unregistered) in reply to akatherder

    Heck, it was my idea to just fill a huge water pool with water, dump the plain in it, get it out and see how much water is left...

    Bah, won't get hired by the author of this article :(

  • LEGO (unregistered) in reply to Wade
    Wade:
    I used to have a boss who liked to ask the following two questions during programmer interviews: 1. Describe to me how your toilet works. 2. Estimate how many ping-pong balls will fit in a 10' x 10' x 10' room; show your work.

    His explanation: for #1, he wants programmers that are curious as to how things work and are capable or explaining how things work. If someone never took the time to wonder how their toilet works, or cannot explain clearly how their toilet works, he doesn't want them. For #2, he wanted to know what assumptions were made about the problem, and whether the estimate including any rounding. [The best answer for #2 is "1, if the ping-pong ball is large enough.]

    How about +infinity as the diameter of the ping pong balls approach zero?

  • (cs)
    How would you determine the weight of a Boeing 747?

    Maybe take a sawzall to it and weigh each piece individually?

    When would you like me to start?

  • (cs) in reply to Franz Kafka
    Franz Kafka:
    This is all true, but brainteasers are old after the first couple of times, and make it feel like you're wasting my time. I don't like having my time wasted, as I only have so much, so real problems related to the job are much better and harder to study for besides. As a bonus, you can do design questions and then introduce scope creep, which is very much relevant to any dev job.

    I find it odd that you interview enough that you get tired of the brainteasers. Are you contractor per-chance?

  • JohnFx (unregistered) in reply to Code Dependent
    Code Dependent:
    B92:
    The biggest disservice that I could perform in an interview is ask "What are your biggest strenths and what is your biggest weakness?" Completely useless.
    I read an amusing answer to "What's your biggest weakness?" once: "I tend to lose patience with people who aren't as ___________ as I am."

    Fill in the blank with your choice of "dedicated", "productive", "visionary", etc.

    The better answer to the biggest weakness question: "I am a horrible dancer. You don't require dancing at this job do you?"

  • zulubanshee (unregistered) in reply to JohnFx
    JohnFx:
    Code Dependent:
    B92:
    The biggest disservice that I could perform in an interview is ask "What are your biggest strenths and what is your biggest weakness?" Completely useless.
    I read an amusing answer to "What's your biggest weakness?" once: "I tend to lose patience with people who aren't as ___________ as I am."

    Fill in the blank with your choice of "dedicated", "productive", "visionary", etc.

    The better answer to the biggest weakness question: "I am a horrible dancer. You don't require dancing at this job do you?"

    A couple of attempts at humorous answers (I've never used them)

    I can only work until midnight because I turn back into a pumpkin.

    I often leave the office too late to get to my Workaholics Anonymous meetings.

  • Delivers (unregistered) in reply to B92
    While I'll conceed that the teaser is useless for figuring out if you can program, it is VERY effective in figuring out how you handle pressure and unknowns. Did you give up immediately without even trying? If so, I don't want you working for me.

    You'd be surprised how many people sit down to a simple programming task, in the language of THEIR choice, and can't even begin the solution in an hour's time. I never cared if they finished or solved the problem. Show me that you can actually program. Again, it's weeded out a lot of hackers. The worst thing you could do is argue with me about the validity of the test. Again, I wouldn't want you working for me.

    As long as it's a question or maybe two I imagine I wouldn't mind the questions.

    I'd be very concerned though if I got the feeling they were too stuck on the answers they'd predicted. Also, in the questions listed here, I've heard the answer to the flashlight question before, as well as the lightbulb box question... which ruins the point of an unexpected situation when used. (I realize you probably don't use them.)

    I thought the blind-bike answer was awesome (if inhumane... I'd reject him if it was for working with people with disabilities :P), as well as the calling Boeing.

    If they focus too much on silly questions (and especially can't handle alternative solutions), I wouldn't want to work for that company either.

  • (cs)

    Well, for the light bulbs, I only need to open the box one time to figure out how it's wired... Problem solved.

    Oh, wait, you wanted me to figure out by the temperature of the TUNGSTEN FILAMENT LAMPS? Well, you should have said that. I didn't assume they output heat, only visible spectra light. That's the only property a light bulb needs to function. Anything else is an assumption and leads you to an answer that doesn't work for every case. Like, for example, LED lights...

  • Franz Kafka (unregistered) in reply to uptaphunk
    uptaphunk:

    I find it odd that you interview enough that you get tired of the brainteasers. Are you contractor per-chance?

    No, but now that I'm no longer a PFY, I prefer work to be relevant to something and not just mental exercise. Brainteasers in an interview are a bad sign of the latter in the actual job.

  • Brit (unregistered) in reply to akatherder

    hahahahahahahahaha

  • kokorozashi (unregistered) in reply to uptaphunk
    uptaphunk:
    I seriously doubt that you would want someone who cannot handle a (possibly) unsolvable problem with acts of aggression and/or being on the verge of nervous breakdown would you?
    If the person can't be civil about the situation, then yes, the person has issues and you're lucky to have detected them early. But it's entirely possible the person will merely stand and extend a hand for you to shake while saying "I'm sorry to have wasted your time. Goodbye." Not because the problem is unsolvable but because the question suggests the interviewer is silly which in turn suggests the company is silly.
  • MrP (unregistered) in reply to B92

    B92 what crack are you smoking. "Finding out how they handle under pressure" my a$$. You telling me that asking people to swag solutions to real problems that you face is less valuable than asking irrelevant brainteasers? If so you're not worth working for.

  • Doug (unregistered) in reply to Mog
    Mog:
    Yanman.be:
    The light bulbs thingy is easy:

    First light 1 switch for 5 minutse, so it gets warm. Turn it off Turn on the other one and open the box. First switch corresponsd to warm lightbulb. Second switch is the lit bulb. Third switch is the unlit bulb.

    But now one of the bulbs is broken. What would you do?

    And who's to say the lights were off to begin with. The god-damn box is opaque.

  • Nicholas Ray (unregistered) in reply to akatherder

    How would you determine the weight of a Boeing 747?

    You can actually get a pretty good estimate by figuring out the pressure in the tires, and the surface area of the tires on the ground, it's also pratical enough to do. Rather then dumping it in a lake.

  • F-U (unregistered) in reply to B92

    You sound like a horrible person to work for.

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