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Comment by memracom | Hacker News Reader

Rushing into coding something using abstract mathematical computer science techniques is a poor way to solve real world business problems. The person who has spent time in the real world raising kids realizes that you do not build business value by being a smartass know-it-all and that when time and money are of the essence, something quick and dirty, maybe even brute force, will save the business, please the customer, and provide you the money to fight another day.

Do not hire the smart ass. Take the person who lives in the real world.

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> Rushing into coding something using abstract mathematical computer science techniques is a poor way to solve real world business problems.

(If you want a disclaimer, I'm not really sure which side I come down on with this, but:)

Knowing how to model something abstractly, and what known good algorithms might be applicable, is exactly not 'rushing into coding'.

It is when it's done within an artificial fifty minute-long timeframe.

This is a strawman argument. Nobody is saying that algorithm and data structures knowledge is preferred over pragmatism, commercial awareness and real world problem solving.

What brianpgordo is saying is that algorithms and data structures are an important quality in addition to those.

That presumes a specific type of engineering role.

Here's another: the founders already coded all the brute-force versions of everything. Now they want their software to scale. You will use your knowledge of algorithms and data structures (and distributed systems) to turn their one node that handles 10 events per second into a cluster that handles 10 million per second with low latency across several geographic regions.

Yeah but at this point how are you going to be able to know what to ask? If you have someone who's a better algo ninja such that they can do a whiteboard interview on the things that matter, then have them write your solution.

If you don't, either look for someone who's done something like your problem before, and ask about resume/experience instead of whiteboard gauntlets. Or acknowledge that it's a research&implement position, and... again, skip the gauntlet.

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